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THE ELECTRICAL

Vol. I.

JULY, 1895.

No. 1

tfffodem telephone Qxchangs Systems.

By Geo. P. Low.

I.

The development of the telephone exchange switch-
board has kept apace with the growth of the telephone
industry, solely in that its appliances have been able
to successfully handle the business thrown upon them,
but the word successfully is used in a restricted sense,
as it cannot be said that heretofore large exchanges have
been handled satisfactorily. In
fact, the dissatisfaction expressed
has been universal and emphatic,
but no recourse being at hand, tele-
phone companies have been forced
to invest mountains of money in
switching apparatus that was
realized to be deficient in many
respects. In brief, the growth of
the telephone industry has placed
it far in advance of the art of
switchboard building, particularly
in that heretofore inventors have
apparently been unable to devise
switchboards that could be con-
structed without entailing infinite
complexity in wiring and almost
extortionate cost.

It may be said with propriety
that there has been too little origi-
nality exercised in the invention of
methods of handling telephone ex-
changes, and that telephone engi-
neers, having been wedded early
in their experiences to the forms of
switchboards now almost univer-
sally used, have unfortunately
fallen into the belief that there are
no "good fish in the sea." A con-
sideration of modern telephone ex-
changes must, perforce, exclude
reference to the earlier devices of
the art, but the single observation
may be made that the principal
systems now universally used con-
tain points of resemblance, if not
identity, that lead to the conclusion
that the efforts of the successful
inventors have hitherto been con-
fined to well trodden paths of re-
search, and certain it is that no
system presenting features showing radical or funda-
mental departures from the generally accepted prin-
ciple of switchboard construction, has heretofore achieved
prominence. The "Multiple" system has long been
pre-eminent among telephone switchboards and an
acknowledged authority * observed as late as July, 1893,

* Preece & Stmbbs' "Manual of Telephony," Page 247."

Fig. 1. The "Multiple" System.— Simpli-
fied Diagram op the Series-Ml'ltiple
Switchboard.

that "it is difficult to conceive of a telephone exchange
of, say, 6,000 subscribers being worked at all upon the
ordinary principle, while it is a comparatively simple
matter with Multiple boards;" indeed, the Multiple
switchboard is described as "the nearest approach to
a perfect system that has yet been devised," and it is
stated that "it is now adopted almost universally for
large exchanges."

A number of the leading tele-
phone engineers of America, how-
ever, who have examined a system
invented and now in use by the
Pacific Telephone and Telegraph
Co., and which is known as the
" Limited Express " system, have
expressed the opinion that the
"Express" system is entitled to
the distinction of being the peer of
the Multiple switchboard in every
point as to reliability, flexibility,
rapidity of switching and cost of
installation and maintenance. As
yet no one has been able to indi-
cate a real disadvantage in its use,
and the only criticism that has
been offered, is that it does not
present the feature peculiar to the
Multiple board that the entire act
of switching may be accomplished
by a single operator.

The topic of Modern Telephone
Exchange Systems, therefore, only
embraces the consideration of
Multiple and Express switch-
boards, but as the Multiple system
has received extended description
in other publications and as its
fundamental principles of opera-
tion are well understood, it is be-
lieved that a detailed description of
its plan of operation is unnecessary.

II.

References.— A, Ring-off Drop.—B, Plugs — C, Sub-
scribers' Drops.— X X X, Subscribers' Lines.— a.
Test Thimble— e, Tip Spring.—/, Annunci-
ator Contact.— h. Line Closing Contact.
j, 2, s, Subscribers' Spring-Jacks.

It is well understood that the es-
sential idea of the Multiple board is
to enable the act of switching to be
performed by a single opera-
tor, and in order to explain
how this is accomplished, it is well to consider sub-
scribers' lines as being "incoming" or "outgoing," ac-
cording to whether the subscriber is a (1) "calling"or (2)
an "answering" or a "called" subscriber. Each operator
is capable of handling the calls of say 200 subscribers,
but these "calling" subscribers will desire connection

Copyrighted 1895, by Geo. P. Low. All Eights Reserved.

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol.

I, No.

with the lines of all subscribers in the exchange ; conse-
quently, each operator's section must contain not only
the spring jacks and annunciator drops for the 200 sub-
scribers whose calls she answers, but also the spring jacks
forming the terminals of the lin.es of every other subscri-
ber in the exchange. Upon this basis therefore, an
exchange of 3,000 subscribers will be divided into 15
operators' sections, and as each operator answers the calls
for 200 subscribers, there will be 200 subscribers' drops
to each section, or 3,000 drops in all. But each operator
must have represented on her section a spring jack form-
ing the terminal of the line of each subscriber in the
exchange, or 3,000 to each operator's section.

The necessity of some means by which any operator
may determine whether the line
of a called or outgoing subscriber
is busy is readily perceived, and
Multiple boards of whatever va-
riety are provided with a test
circuit for each subscriber which
is brought out in the form of a
tube or thimble at the entrance
of each spring jack. Before in-
serting the plug into the jack
forming the terminal of the out-
going subscriber's line, the oper-
ator touches the tip of the plug to
this test thimble, and if the line
of the called subscriber is en-
gaged the operator is informed
accordingly from the occurrence
of a sharp click in her telephone
receiver. This test thimble is
shown as a on the accompany-
ing diagrams of Multiple switch-
boards, Figs. 1 and 2.

Having these facts in mind
the consideration of the different
forms of Multiple boards may be
intelligently undertaken.

III.

The old form of Multiple
switchboard, known as the se-
ries-multiple board, is shown
diagramatically, and in its great-
est simplicity, in Fig. 1. It is
distinctively a magneto system,
as both the subscribers drops C,
and the ringing-off drop A are
actuated by magneto currents
generated at the subscriber's sta-
tion. Its characteristic feature
rests in the fact that the spring-
jack appearing on each section
for a given subscriber is wired
in series with the spring-jacks
for the same subscriber appear-
ing on every other section, hence
the insertion of a plug in a given
subscriber's spring-jack on any section cuts the circuits
terminating in the plug, into circuit with the subscriber's
line. Obviously, then, each spring-jack is liable to cause
an open circuit in a subscriber's line by reason of opening
at the line-closing contact h, which may occur from cor-
rosion or the lodgment of dust at that point or from the
weakening of the tip spring e, or the line-closing contact
/. The ringing-off annunciator drop A remains
across the subscribers' lines in multiple during the
conversation. The series-multiple system presents no
automatic self-restoring features, hence requires manual

Fig. 2. The "Multiple" System. — Simplified

Diagram op the Bridging-Multiple

Switchboard.

Refekences.— A, Ring-off Drop.— S, Plugs— C, Self-restoring
Magnets— D, Subscribers' Drops.— E, Self-restoring Magnet
Battery.— X X X, Subscribers' Lines.— a, Test Thim-
bles.— b. Sleeve Ring.—c, d, Self-restoring Magnet
Contacts. — et Tip Spring. — g, Insulated
Metallic Ring.— i. ?, 3, Subscribers'
Spring-jacks.

effort on the part of the operator, not only in restoring
the drops, but in ascertaining whether the subscribers
have performed the ringing off and other duties expected
of them.

These and other defects of serious importance led to
the designing of the Bridging-Multiple switchboard, the
simplified circuits of which are shown in Fig. 2, in their
most perfected forms. As its name implies, the charac-
teristic of the bridging system lies in the arrangement
of the subscribers' jacks, the spring-jack for a given sub-
scriber being " bridged " or wired ia multiple with the
spring-jacks for the same subscriber appearing on every
other section, thereby obviating the troubles common to
the Series board from the opening of circuits at the line-
closing contacts in the spring-
jacks ; but in obviating one
trouble a second, though less
serious one, is encountered,
namely, the liability of short-
circuiting from the enormous
amount of parallel wiring.

The most approved forms of
bridging-.multiple boards con-
tain automatic or self-restoring
subscribers' drops, actuated by
a battery, shown as E, in Fig. 2.
The plug B contains a metallic
ring g placed near the tip and
insulated therefrom. When in-
serted in the spring-jack this
ring g short circuits the springs
c d, which closes the circuit of
the battery E through the restor-
ing winding C of the subscrib-
ers' drops D, thus relieving the
operator from restoring the drop
after having answered the call.
The act of inserting the plug B
in the spring-jack cuts into the
subscriber's line in multiple
through the contacts of the sleeve
and tip of the plug with the
sleeve ring b and the tip spring
e respectively. The ringing-off
or clearing annunciation must
be rendered by the subscriber
actuating the ringing-off drop A,
as in the series-multiple system.
In order that a more clear un-
derstanding of the details of op-
eration of multiple boards may
be had, it is well to refer again
to Fig. 1, which, as stated, illus-
trates diagramatically the most
approved form of the series-
multiple switching system as
used preferably on metallic cir-
cuits. In this the three subscrib-
ers' lines XXX, etc., are shown
entering three sections of the
the last of which is the " answering," or " local "
section answering the calls of the
thereon. The plan of circuit

board

section — that is the
three subscribers located

wiring, shown in the first and second sections, describes
the manner in which all remaining sections of the ex-
change are wired, and of course, each of these other sec-
tions forms the answering section for a particulai group
of subscribers entering the exchange, as previously de-
sci'ibed.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 1 that one side
of the subscriber's line, when it reaches the switchboard,

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

is out into in series by as many spring-jacks as there are
sections to the board, while the other side of the sub-
scriber's line continues on uninterruptedly paralleling
the first side of the line until together they reach the
subscriber's annunciator drop, shown as C, but at each
point where a spring-jack is cut into the first side of the
line, a tap or branch wire is taken from the second side
of the line and coutinues on to the test thimble a. If,
now, the function of the spring-jack be considered as
opening the subscriber's line at the contact h, by lifting
the tip spring e from the annunciator contact /, then the
spring-jack becomes a simple series device for opening
the line. If the function of the spring-jack be consid-
ered as a means for enabling a plug circuit to be bridged
or cut in, in multiple with the subscriber's line through
the contact of the tip spring e and the test thimble a,
with the tip and sleeve respectively of the plug B, then
the spring-jack becomes a. simple multiple device for
bridging on to the circuit at any section. In point of
fact the spring-jack performs both these functions, hence
the insertion of a plug in the first section opens the sub-
scriber's line on all points beyond that section, which
explains why the signaling back of a called subscriber
does not throw the dro'p of that subscriber on its own
particular answering section.

The second side of the subscriber's line referred to
constitutes the " test wire," the use of which will be un-
derstood when it is stated that the wiring of each pair
of plugs is grounded through a small battery and retard-
ing coil and that each operator's receiver is also ground-
ed, so that if the spring-jack for a given subscriber is in
use on any particular section a grounded battery current
will be thrown upon the test thimble of each spring-jack
for the same subscriber in every other section, hence the
touching of the tip of the plug to the test thimble will
complete the grounded battery circuit, giving the sharp
click in the operator's instrument, previously referred to.

Beyond this apparatus the operators' tables are
equipped with listening keys and ringing keys, together
with the ringing-off drop A.

Fig. 2, showing a simplified diagram of the bridg-
ing-multiple switchboard, represents the most approved
form of Multiple switching. The spring-jacks differ
from those in use on the series board in that they have
five terminals, two of which, the test thimble a and the
self-restoring magnet spring d, are common points and,
forming the test wire, are continued to each section.
The self-restoring magnet wire ending in the spring e,
and which is grounded,, is common to every spring-jack
in every section. The spring-jack, therefore, has three
separate and distinct uses. First, to enable the cutting
of a plug circuit into circuit in multiple with the sub-
scribers' lines XX. Second, to enable the operator to
apply the " busy " test by touching the plug switch to
the test thimble a, and third, to restore the subscriber's
indicator by short-circuiting the springs c d through the
plug ring g. The subscribers' indicators contain two
windings, as shown at D and C, which are respectively
used for throwing the annunciator drop, by means of the
subscriber's magneto current, and for restoring this drop
by means of current sent through the coil C from the
battery E, when the spring-jack points c d are short cir-
cuited. The test wire circuits are operated in a manner
identical to that used in the series-multiple system, which
the bridging-multiple system further resembles in the
arrangement of the ringing-off drop A.

Experience has proven that the bridging-multiple
system is far more reliable than the series-multiple
board, particularly for its greater immunity from trouble
and because of the self-restoring features of its indica-
tors. Like the series system, however, it requires a

manual test for " busy " and for checking subscriber3
who do not ring off. It also has the disadvantage of
maintaining devices, such as the ringing-off drop A and
the subscriber's drop D, permanently across the circuit
which, together with the use of grounded circuits for
special work, is oftimes seriously objectionable. While
the bridging-multiple board is less liable to trouble than
the series-multiple board, it is at the same time harder
to find such troubles as do occur. A recent writer,*
commenting on this fact, points out that with the older
styles of switchboard, in which the insertion of a plug
cuts out the drop, it is an easy matter to test all wires
from one of the sections of the board itself; but, with
the bridging type of board, the case is more difficult as
the drop is never cut out, and a line will show closed
through the drop irrespective of its condition outside the
office.

In order that an idea may be conveyed as to the dif-
ficulty attending the localizations of switchboard "faults,"
it may be well to describe a method due to Mr. Manson,
in which subscribers' lines are handled by bridging mul-
tiple boards and consequently with normally open
spring-jacks and high resistance subscribers' indicators.

■

Fig. 3.— The Express System.— A Complete
Section op the "A" Switchboard.

The peculiarity of the method is iu the arrangement of
the testing outfit, which is a modification of the Wheat-
stone bridge. Its essential features are a differentially
wound relay ; that is, a relay having two windings, A
and B, each of equal resistance and connected in series ;
a third wire terminating in the hammer of a telegraph
key being run from the middle connecting point. A
second feature of the testing set consists in the use of a
resistance equal to that of a regular subscriber's indica-
tor drop. The set also contains a suitable battery and
an ordinary plug with flexible cord to connect into any
spring-jack desired.

The arrangement of these devices is such that the
key and battery are bridged across from the middle
point of the differential relay, shunting the differential

* James W. Manson, Electrical Engineer (N. Y.). Nov. 28, 1894.

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No.

relay coil B and the resistance in series on one side, and
the differential relay coil A and the plug in series on the
other, thus balancing a kuown resistance against what-
ever resistance there may be on the circuit of the spring-
jack into which the plug is placed.

To make the test the plug is inserted in a spring-
jack, and the key closed. In case the line is open at any
point outside the office, the current from the battery di-
vides equally between the two coils, A and B, of the dif-
ferential relay, with consequently no effect on its arma-
ture. If, on the contrary, the line is intact, coil A gets
more current than coil B, as the joint resistance of sub-

Illiiil-^

Fig. 4. — The "Express" System. — A Complete
Section op the "B ' Switchboard.

scriber's line and drop in parallel is less than that of R.
When a line is closed then the relay armature is at-
tracted with an intensity proportional to the difference
between the currents flowing through the coils A and B.
Regardless of the many deficiencies of Multiple
switchboards, whether of the series or bridging-multiple
forms, they have constituted the most serviceable ap-
pliance available, but their chief drawback, aud which
alone would have long since condemned them had there
been a qualified substitute available, lies in the great
complexity and detail of the wiring essential to their
construction. When it is remembered that in the case
of 3,000 subscribers, as cited, there must be 45,000
spring-jacks in an exchange using the Multiple board,
and when, as is seen by reference to Fig. 2, each spring-
jack necessitates the use of five wires to connect its
working parts to the main wires running through from
section to section, the appalling complexity of the wir-
ing of a Multiple board in a large exchange will be ap-
preciated, a3 will also the fact that the expense of in-
stallation and the cost of maintaining it free from troub-
les are important items.

IV.

The " Express " system, which is the joint inven-
tion of Messrs. John I. Sabin and William Hampton, is
so radically different in principle from " Multiple " sys-
tems that at first impression it appears to be seriously

complicated, but when its working principles are under-
stood the idea of complexity vanishes. Aside from its
thorough practicability, moreover, it presents many
novel, interesting, invaluable and distinctive features.
The system has been in use in San Francisco for nearly
two years, and while the perfected methods of operation,
as hereafter described, have not been carried out with
each subscriber, yet each feature presented has been fully
and extensively tested under actual working conditions
and its reliability has been demonstrated. Rapid prog-
ress is now being made in changing the equipment of the
Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company so that it will
conform fully to the perfected " Express " system, as
herein described. Two years ago the " Multiple " sys-
tem was abandoned and experiments were undertaken
in line with the ideas herein set forth, and as a result of
the evolution of the perfected " Express " service San
Francisco to-day contains a mixed telephone sj^stem in
which the use of the perfected " Express " predominates,
but in some cases metallic " Express " is connected to
grounded " Express," or to metallic or grounded mag-
neto service, or grounded "Express" is connected to
grounded magneto lines, and grounded magneto lines are
connected to grounded magneto'lines through grounded
or metallic " Express " system, all with far greater satis-
faction from every point of view than is possible in the
use of " Multiple " boards.

A distinguishing feature of the Sabin-Hampton
" Express " system rests in the fact that the switchboard
is split into two sections, each independent and different
in design from the other and each performing a separate
or individual function. These two sections are arbi-
trarily designated as "A" boards and " B " boards re-
spectively, and the same mode of designation follows
through all features of the " Express " system. There
are, for instance "A" operators and " B " operators, and
"A" trunks and " B" trunks, etc, which at once defines
the purpose of the operator or the trunk. Subscribers
become "A" and " B " subscribers according to whether
they are the calling or " incoming," or the called or
" outgoing " subscriber. It is upon the distinction be-
tween these terms that the basis of the " Express " sys-
tem rests, and a full comprehension of their significance
must be attained in order to enable the system to be de-
scribed understandingly.

It may be said with accurac}', though in a general

^^r^AraaT

Fig. 5. — The Express System.
Sectional View op a Cord Plug.

way, that the calling, or incoming subscriber, is handled
by "A" equipment, while the called or outgoing sub-
scriber, is handled by "B" equipment. One hundred
numbers constitute a section on either board, and each
section of the " B'" board contains the permanent spring
jack terminals and subscriber's indicators of the lines of
the subscribers on that section, together with the cords
and plugs for a limited number of local trunks and their
clearing-out indicators and ringing-up magneto keys, as
shown in figure 4. Each section of the "A" board (il-
lustrated in Figure 3) contains spring jacks forming the
terminals for the set of local trunks going to the " B "
board and known as " B " trunks, and also cords and
plugs leading from the "B" board and kuown as "A"

July, 1895-]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

plugs. This simple arrangement, together with the vis-
ual indicators and various ke37s for switching the opera-
tor's instruments into circuit with calling subscribers or
" B •" operators, forms practically the entire equipment
of the " A" board.

The " B " board -is therefore the subscribers' lines'
board, and it is, iu brief, a counterpart of the ordinary
multiple switchboard, with the exceptions that in the
11 Express " system each section contains only the sub-
scribers' annunciators and spring jacks for one hundred
subscribers, together with not exceeding twenty trunk
plugs, while in the multiple system each section contains
not only the subscribers' annunciators and spring jacks
for that particular section, but also spring jacks for every
subscriber received on every other section, often reach -
ing thousands of connections, as fully explained hereto-
fore. Clearly, then, the "B" operator in charge of a
given section has in her care mainly the subscribers' an-
nunciators and jacks of that particular section, and is
dependent upon using trunk lines for making connection
with other sections. She perceives when a subscriber
on her section is making a call, and with a single, simple
motion, sends the call over to the "A" board for another
operator to take care of, but when a subscriber ou her
sectiou is called she rings him up and sees that he re-
sponds. Almost the entire work of the " B " operator,
therefore, consists in switching for the outgoing subscri-
bers on her section, and she is therefore considered as
the operator in charge of a section of outgoing or called
subscribers — in brief, a " B " operator.

An understanding of these divided boards and of
the trunk lines may be attained by defining "A" opera-
tors and switchboards as affording facilities for the ma-
nipulation of such temporary extensions of subscribers'
circuits as the " B " operators may make by pluggiug
subscribers' lines over to the "A" board through the ex-
tension or trunk lines. The "A" board must therefore,
bo considered as the means by which a temporary
"jumper," or " bridge," may be ruu connecting the call-
ing subscriber's spring jack in one section of a " B "
board with the spring jack of the called subscriber loca-
ted in another section of the "B" board. If, now, a
primitive exposition of the principles of operation of
the " Express " system is desired, it can be given in no
more simple way than to state that the proper operators
on the " B " board extend the lines of the calling and
called subscribers over to the "A" board where an "A"
operator brings the lines together, thereby closing the
circuit and establishing communication.

V.

In practice,however, the execution of the apparently
simple act of connecting two subscribers lines together,
becomes quite complicated when it has to be accom-
plished to the full satisfaction of the exacting demands
of metropolitan telephone service. To do this, the addi-
tional equipment necessary in the making of switch
connections within a single exchange operated on com-
plete metallic service, consists of a number of accessory
devices about to be described.

Cords and plugs are the devices used for making
switchboard connections on account of their flexibility
and ease of manipulation. They are double pole
throughout; that is, each cord contains two separate
conductors terminating in the sleeve and tip of the plug,
respectively. The plug used in the "Express" system
contains a distinctive feature in the placing of a stiff
steel spring axially along the surface of the sleeve, there-
by insuring a firm and reliable mechanical contact
between the sleeve and the tube of the spring-jack as
shown in the sectional actual size view of the plug ex-
hibited in Fig. 5.

The spring-jack used in the "Express" system is a
very neat and compact device, mounted on hard rubber,
and shown as B in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 6),
of a decade of subscribers' spring-jacks taken from the
jack section of a "B" board. Its working parts are
best described by reference to Figure 7, which illus-
trates the "B" board diagramatically, and from which
it will be seen that the jack consists of two springs a, b,
normally in firm contact with the points c, d. These
springs a, b, form the terminals of the subscriber's line,
and the fact that each subscriber has but a single spring-
jack and consequently but a single line terminal in the
whole exchange, should be emphasized, as it is a distin-
guishing feature in the "Express" system. The points
c, d, form the terminals of the subscriber's batteiw,
and as the jack-springs a, b, are normally in contact with
the points c, d, it is clear that when the line is not in use
the potential of the subscriber's battery is upon it.

The description of the subscriber's telephone equip-
ment, which is given elsewhere, points out the fact that
when the receiver is on the hook, the subscriber's line is
open so far as the subscriber's battery is concerned, with
the battery upon it, and also that the act of raising the
receiver from the hook, closes the line and battery
through the receiver and the secondary of the induction
coil. It is in the subscriber's spring-jack that the battery
connection with the subscriber's line is made by reason
of the pressure of the springs a, b, against the points
c, d, but before the battery reaches the points c, d, in
each subscriber's spring-jack, it passes through the indi-
vidual annunciator drop or subscriber's indicator for that
particular jack. Clearly, then, the raising of the sub-
scriber's receiver from the hook closes the line circuit
through the telephone, the secondary of the induction
coil and the annunciator drop on the "B" board, and
clearly, also, will the insertion of a plug into the spring-
jack of the subscriber indicated upon the subscriber's
drop, restore the gravity annunciator drop through
the breaking of the contacts between the springs a, b,
and the points c, d, respectively, and at the same time
remove all connection between the subscriber's calling
battery and the subscriber's line.

Trunk lines are used only for conversational pur-
poses by subscribers, and are not called upon for office
duty between operators or otherwise. Their specific
utilization consists in the making of temporary exten-
sions of subscribers' lines between "B" boards and "A"
boards. The trunk lines are divided into two classes,
known as main trunks, or those extending between
branch and main offices and local trunks, or those ex-
tending between the "A" and " B " boards of a single
office. Main and local trunks are each in turn divided
into two classes, namely, "A" and "B" trunks. "A"
trunks are those running from incoming " B " boards to
"A" boards, and have each end terminating in a plug,
while "B" trunks are those appearing on the "A"
boards as spring-jacks and run to outgoing " B " boards
direct, where they terminate in the form of plugs. It is
through the use of local trunks, therefore, that the lines
of conversing subscribers are extended from their
permanent sections on the " B " board to a given section
of the "A" board. " B " trunks invariably extend as
outgoing from an "A" section spring-jack to a " B " sec-
tion plug without being interrupted by any switching or
other device, as will be shown, but "A" trunks are each
cut into by the intermediate cross connecting board, or
the distributing board on the way from the calling sub-
scriber's, or the incoming " B " board to the "A" board.

Upon ^tracing the route of exchange switching it
will be found that the incoming " B " operator, or the
one having charge of the section upon which a call
originates, will plug a local " A " trunk into the calling

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i,

Fig. 6. — The "Express'' System. — Some Devices Used.

References. —A , Trunk Indicator Lamp Rack.—B, Decade of Subscribers' Spring-jacks showing Battery Contact Points and mode of

Inserting Plugs. — C, Decade of Subscribers' Self-restoring Drops \ with aluminum Shutter. — D. Trunk Clearing Indicator

Relay. — E, Balancing or Retarding Coil.— P., Decade of Ringing Keys, the Reverse Side of which is per H.

G, Cover for Lamp Rack A .—Ht Decade of Listening Keys. — /, Compound Relay.— f, Plug

Gravity Lamp Indicator Switch. — K, Conde?iser. — Z-, i.ooo-ohm Relay.

M% Magnetic Trunk Clearing Indicator.

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

subscriber's spring-jack. This "A" trunk does not
take the call through the " A " board direct but con-
stitutes the first division of the entire " A " trunk or
the division which extends from the " B " board to the
intermediate board. From the intermediate board, the
second division of the " A " trunk is continued to such
particular section of the '• A " board as may have been
predetermined by the chief operator, who regulates the
number of " B " sections each " A " operator is to han-
dle as incoming according to the methods shown in the
detailed description of the intermediate board. < It is
from the intermediate board therefore that the call con-
tinues along the second division of the " A " trunk until
it reaches its proper " A " plug on the " A " board. The
" A " operator then plugs this " A " trunk into the spring-
jack forming the terminal of the proper " B " trunk,
which carries the circuit to the section of the " B '' board
containing the called or outgoing subscriber's spring-jack
where the only remaining opening in the circuit is
closed by the outgoing " B " operator, all as fully de-
scribed hereafter. Trunk lines have condensers in circuit
and also the indicator batteries and devices, affording
means for manipulating indicator signals as will be showu.

VI.

It is well known among those who are familiar
with telephone exchanges that during certain hours of
the day there will be comparatively little business to
handle, while at other hours each and every operator
will be kept exceedingly busy and the exchange will be
running to its full capacity. It is this situation that led
to the designing and use in San Francisco of a special
distributing switchboard called the intermediate cross-
connecting board, which affords the means by which the
business received by the " A" board from the incoming
" B " board may be split up and evenly apportioned
among the operators handling the various sections of
the " A " board. There are furthermore certain hours,
particularly at night, when a single •' A " operator can
handle all the " A " board switching, in which event
every section of the " B " board may be thrown upon
say two sections of the " A" board by properly switch-
ing the local '■ A " trunks thereto at the intermediate
board. Then, at other times of day, the rush of business
will be so great that it will be necessary for each " A "
section to be worked to its fullest capacity, in which
event the " A " trunks will be so commutated at the inter-
mediate board that each section of the " A" board will
be called upon to handle the incoming switching business
of say two or three sections of the " B " board. There
is, therefore, no fixed or permanent connection between
given " A " sections and given " B " sections of the
switchboard, nor does a given " A " trunk starting at a
given " B " section have a fixed or permanent terminal
at any given section of the " A " board, but the " A "
trunks connecting the " A " and " B " boards are changed
during the day according to the volume of business
transacted. This is done through the intermediate board,
which cuts into the " A " trunks only and is so designed
that its upper portion contains rows of spring-jacks
forming the terminals of the division of the " A " trunk,
which ends at the '; A " board. Inasmuch as each sect-
ion of the " A" board receives the incoming business of
fifteen "A." trunks, it is advisable that there should be as
many horizontal rows of spring-jacks on the intermediate
board as there are sections on the l' A " board, and also
that each such row should contain the spring-jacks
forming the terminals of the fifteen " A " trunks belong-
ing to a given " A " section, as in this way a glance at
the intermediate board instantly conveys information
as to the distribution of incoming work among the

various sections of the " A. " board. In like manner the
lower portion of the intermediate board contains the
plugs forming the permanent terminals of the division
of the " A '* trunks running to the " B " board. These
plugs are similarly arranged in rows corresponding to the
" A " trunk plugs on the " B " board with the exception,
however, that each "B" board contains but ten "A" trunk
plugs, hence each horizontal row of plugs in the intermedi-
ate board should preferably contain ten plugs. It is found
by experience that during the busiest hours, two sections
of the " A " board will handle all the incoming business
of three sections of the " B " board when operated to its
fullest capacity, aud as all sections are designed to sat-
isfy maximum demands, exchanges are so laid out that
there are two " A " sections to each three " B " sections.
The upper portion of the intermediate board, therefore,
contains fifteen times as many spring-jacks as there are
sections to the " A " board, while the lower portion con-
tains ten times as many cords and plugs as there are
sections to the " B " board. Frequently, the first two or
three " A " trunks of each section of the " B " board will
be grouped together and plugged on to the spring-jacks
forming the terminals of the " A " trunks leading to two
sections of the " A " board; at other times three given
" B" sections that are very busy will be trunked to two
given " A " sections while the business of the remaining
" B " sections may be such that one " A " operator can
handle the business of half a dozen or more "B " sections,
etc. No delay in answering calls or otherwise is oc-
casioned through the use of the intermediate board.

The " Express " system, as at present used in San
Francisco, is operated through intermediate boards as
described, and their use has always given perfect sat-
isfaction, but it is now believed that equal satisfaction
and greater simplicity will be derived by dispensing
with their use and connecting the " A " trunks of given
<; B " sections to given " A " sections permanently.
When this is done a red lamp on the " B " board can be
connected iu series to the proper red lamp on the '■ A "
board, thus enabling them to be lighted simultaneously
aud thus dispensing with the use of the trunk line clear-
ing indicator or relay on the " B " boards, as shown.

VII.

Listening keys (shown as H in Figure 6) are used for
cutting "A" operators' instruments on any ^particular
section of the "A" board into the lines of such calling
subscribers as the " B " operators may extend over to
the "A" board. "A" operators and boards alone are
provided with listening keys, hence only "A" operators
can converse with subscribers.

Order wire keys (see F, Figure 6) are also placed on
''A" boards alone, and may best be described as ex-
change service keys. Their function is to enable any
"A" operator to speak with the operator of any desired
" B " section, and they are used for such service exclu-
sively. Each order wire may be considered as originat-
ing permanently in the head telephone of the " B " oper-
ator for a given section of the " B " board, whence it
continues to the corresponding order wire key of each
"A" section. Order wire keys bearing corresponding
numbei's — that is for corresponding sections of the " B "
board — are wired in multiple, and as the keys are nor-
mally in open circuit, and as each "A" operator is pro-
vided with an individual order wire key, any "A" oper-
ator may call up any " B " operator at will by depress-
ing the proper order wire key. " B " operators, there-
fore, can be called only by "A" operators ; hence they
cannot call up any subscriber or any operator. They
have no meaus for listening to conversations between

8

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No.

subscribers and can talk only with such "A" operators
as may call them up over the order wire. "A" opera-
tors to the contrary, as has been shown, can cut their
instruments into conversations over subscribers' lines
passing through their boards, or into circuit with any
" B " operator at will.

Subscribers' " Express" equipments are arranged for
full metallic service, as shown diagramatically in Figure
7, illustrating the simplified circuits of the system when

Sl/OJCK/srxs £!frrrxr

Fig. 7. — The " Expbess " System. — Diagbam of Subscribers'

Station, Spbing Jack and Self-bebtobing

Annunciator Indicator.

the receivers are off the hooks and the instruments are in
use. The weight of the receiver on the hook H de-
presses it, maintaining an open circuit between the hook
point h and the springs / g, at the same time grounding
one side of the line through the magneto call-bell at the
point i. Upon raising the receiver from the hook, how-
ever, the ground is taken from the circuit and call-bell
by breaking the contact i, and the line circuit is com-
pleted by the pressure of the hook point h against the
springs / g, which closses the local battery circuit through
the transmitter and the primary of the induction coil,
and also closes the line circuit through the receiver and
the secondary coil. As described elsewhere this closes the
subscribers' battery circuit that is always upon the sub-
scribers' line when in use, and thereby transmits the
subscribers' call to the proper indicator on the " B "
board. The action of the hook, therefore, closes the
subscribers' line when in use, and opens it when idle
with the telephone on the hook.

VIII.

The automatic indicators, which form a character-
istic feature of the " Express " system, give continuous
visual indications from which the operators ascertain
the condition of each and every circuit at a glance.
Their scope of utility is most comprehensive, for they
not only relieve the public from any responsibility in
calling up central or in ringing off, but they faithfully
subserve every function hitherto performed by operators
in restoring indicators, testing for " busy," listening for
responses, ascertaining if conversation is yet in prog-
ress, or in looking after renegade subscribers who are
never known to "ring off." Moreover, through their
use it becomes impossible for operators to make mistakes
in switching without having their attention called to the
error. Beyond this a further advantage in the use of
visual indicators rests in the fact that in relieving oper-
ators of the labor of listening to ascertain when the Hue
is clear, the indicator system enables them to restore the
lines when clear with far greater celerity than can possi-
bly be done otherwise. As a result a greater number
of subscribers can be handled over a given number of
trunks cleared by visual indicators than will be possible
by any other means.

These indicators are conveniently arranged on both
"A" and " B " boards, and are actuated by the calling

and called subscribers respectively when they have com-
pleted the conversation and have replaced their tele-
phone receivers on the hooks. Inasmuch as the act of
switching requires the momentary attention of three op-
erators, namely, an incoming " B " operator, an "A" op-
erator, and an outgoing " B " operator, it is necessary
that each operator should have reliable and instant no-
tification of work to be done and concerning the condi-
tion of all circuits under her control. Accordingly, the
chief functions of indicators are : First, to notify the
proper operator of the existence of a call ; second, to
warn of improper switching or the failure of a subscri-
ber to respond, and third, to convey such information
as is necessary to enable the operator to ascertain the
condition of the circuit until the conversation has ceased
and it is time to clear the lines. All this is done auto-
matically and by visual signals without the slightest ef-
fort on the part of any operator in cutting into lines,
listening for conversations, or without a ringing-off sig-
nal by the subscriber or any manual effort whatever on
the part of any one.

The operation of a reliable and comprehensive sys-
tem of indicators is best accomplished through the
placing of the indicators with their accompanying battery
and balancing coils across the conductors of a trunk line.
This is done in the manner shown in Figure 9, where
the indicator battery and retarding or balancing coil are
placed across the "A" trunk. The indicator is connected
to the tip side of the trunk, that is, to the wire leading
to the tip side of the trunk plug, while the retarding
coil is connected to the opposite or sleeve side of the
trunk with the indicator battery in circuit between the
indicator and retarding coil, thus preserving an inductive
balance on each side of the battery. In order that the
automatic signalling of a calling subscriber when he has
completed a conversation should not interfere with the
automatic signals sent to the outgoing " B " board by the
called subscriber at the same time, the condenser shown
as Cin Figure 9, and which has a capacity of one micro-
farad, is inserted in the indicator side of the 'A" trunk,
which breaks the metallic conductivity of the wire, but
not its telephonic or inductive continuity. In no other
portion of the " Express " system are condensers used.
It is obvious, then, that the presence of the condenser

TRUNK CLEANING
INOICATOH - PRACTICAL
OUIVALENT Or I0OO.— RCLA'

Fig. 8. — The "Express" System. — Diagram of "B"
Operator's Indicators.

in the "A" trunk will prevent the indicator battery from
completing a circuit through any device placed beyond
the condenser ; hence the indicator current on the "A"
trunk does not reach the spring-jacks on the "A" board,
but is confined to the "A" trunk and the line and circuits
of the calling subscriber. Similarly the indicator circuit
of the " B " trunk is entirely independent of everything

July, 1895.]

THE" ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

Fig. 9. Simplified Diagram of the "Express'' System.

References — T. L. C. I.o r"R.." Trunk Line Clearing Indicator or Relay. — 5. J., Subscriber's Spring-jack. — 5. /.. Subscriber's Indicators.

S. I. B., Subscribei-'s Indicator Battery. — H. T, Head Telephone. — C, Condenser.— B. C, Balancing Coil. — L. B., Local Battery,

"A" O. T.y "A" Operator's Telephone. — G., Ringing Generator.

except the "B" equipment. la practice the indicator
battery is in closed circuit through the various instru-
ments upon the subscriber's line during conversational
use, but as the current is exceedingly small, seldom ex-
ceeding one milliampere, its presence is found to be
entirely neglected, even in long distance telephoning.

The methods by which the indicator lamps on the
table of the "A" switchboard are actuated are clearly set
forth on Figure 10, which shows the table complete ex-
cept the order wire keys, but as the functions and con-
nections of these have been fully explained, and as they
cut no figure in the operation of the indicator lamps, the
omission is of no consequence. In addition to the order
wire keys, the table of the "A" board contains four sets
of devices each in a row which are named in order, com-
mencing with the front of the board and individually
described as follows :

First are the listening keys, which rest in their
normal condition when standing vertically when the
operators telephone is cut out of circuit and a secondar}'
contact in circuit with the white indicator lamp is
closed.

Second are the white indicator lamps, which are set
into the table in the manner shown, and when lighted
designate the "A" trunk plug upon which is an unan-
swered subscriber's call. The battery operating the
white lamp may be broken either by the act of a calling
subscriber in placing the telephone on the hook, by the
"A" operator in lifting the trunk plug containing the
subscriber's call from the plug receptacle, or by the "A"
operator in depressing the listening key in order to cut
her instruments into circuit. In this connection it
should be noted that the actuation of indicators whether
of annunciator form or miniature lamps invariably occurs

IO

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i.

Fig. 10.— The " Express

' System. — Table of "A" Switchboard, Showing the Circuits
Controlling the Indicator Lamps.

through the performance of a function that is usual in
making switch connections, such as the lifting of a trunk
plug from its receptacle or the cutting in of an operator's
telephone into a subscriber's circuit, etc. In actual work
the operation of the white lamp is of a converse nature
to that just described : the calling subscriber having
lifted the telephone from the hook, sends the subscriber's
battery current to the " B " board thus actuating the
subscriber's indicator. The operator in charge of the
incoming "B" board plugs the "A" trunk line into the
subscriber's spring-jack which cuts off the subscriber's
battery as previously explained, and at the same time
closes the circuit actuating the indicator on the "A"
board for that particular trunk through the subscriber's
instruments. The indicator circuit being closed lights
the white indicator lamp designating a call as stated, and
this lamp remains lighted until the call receives atten-
tion, when the depressing of the listening key opeus the
lamp circuit and extinguishes the light. Moreover,
should the operator accidentally pull out a busy plug,
the returning of such plug to its receptacle would light
the white lamp designating it, and so afford instant
notification of the error committed.

Then in the third row are the plugs forming the ter-
minals of the "'A" trunks which appear behind the
white indicator lamps, but their use requires no further
description than that already given.

In the last row are the red lamps which form the
ringing off or the clearing indicators for the trunk plugs
they respectively designate. Like the white lamps, they
are, under normal conditions and as described elsewhere,
under the control of the calling subscriber so far as
their lighting is concerned and also in that they are ex-
tinguished when the operator has performed her duty.

Under the table of the "A" switchboard are placed
three pieces of accessory apparatus, two of which, the
listening key switch and the plug receptacle or gravity
switch, are controlled by the operator, while the third
is a 1,000-ohm relay energized by removing the subscri-
ber's receiver from the hook and demagnetized by re-
placing the receiver upon the hook. This relay controls
the lighting of the indicator lamps on the table and the
operator controls their extinguishing through the ordi-

nary use of the listening key and the trunk plug in
switching, as shown. The primary object of the listen-
ing key is to cut the operator's instruments into the call-
ing subscriber's circuits, which can be done by drawing
the key forward, thereby closing the contacts g h and ij
respectively, which also separates the points e and /, for
the battery circuit for the white lamp. It is plain, then,
that if the white lamp is lighted the cutting of the oper-
ator's instrument into the calling subscriber's line, as
must be done in answering a call, will extinguish the
light. The trunk plug rests in and its weight bears
down a receptacle forming the long arm of a right angle
lever at the fulcrum of which I, is connected one side of
the lamp battery. The short arm of the lever has two
platinum points near the end, which with their respec-
tive circuits form the contacts e and d. When the plug
is idle its weight closes the contact e in circuit with the
white lamp, but when the plug is in use its receptacle is
raised by the spring, closing the contact d in the red
lamp circuit. The red and white lamps are alternately
thrown into circuit, but not necessarily operated, by the
use or non-use of the trunk plug. The armature of the
relay forms one lever of a simple two-point switch, the
fulcrum K of which is connected to the other side of the
lamp battery while the back contact a is in direct con-
nection with one side of the red lamp, and the front con-
tact b is in similar connection with tbe white lamp.

The normal condition of tbe equipment of the table
of the "A" board is as shown in the drawing, and the
instant the calling subscriber lifts his receiver from the
hook the operator in charge of the incoming "B" board
notes the call and plugs it on to the "A" trunk, the other
end of which appears as the plug shown in Figure 10.
This acton the part of the " B" operator cuts out the
subscriber's battery and restores the subscriber's indica-
tor on the " B " board, and simultaneously the indicator
battery, being on the "A" trunk as explained elsewhere,
is thrown on to the calling subscriber's line, but as this
has been closed by the subscriber in taking his receiver
off the hook, the indicator circuit is thus completed
through the 1,000-ohin relay shown in the drawing. The
relay armature springs forward, closing the circuit of the
white lamp through the contacts b e f e. The light

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

11

quickly attracts the attention of the "A" operator, who
presses forward the listening key indicated by the burn-
ing of the white lamp, and asks " Xumber." This act
opens the circuit of the white lamp at the points e /,
and cuts in the operator's instruments at the points g h
and i j. Having ascertained the numbei wanted, the
listening ke}^ is restored to its vertical position, cutting
out the operator's instruments and again cutting in
the white lamp. The operator then depresses the proper
order wire key', as elsewhere explained, and having as-
certained from the outgoing " B " operator the num-
ber of the " B " trunk to be used, the "A" operator
lifts the plug indicated by the white lamp and inserts
it in the spring jack of the " B " trunk designated.
The raising of the plug opens contact c, which extin-
guishes the white light, and closes contact d, restoring
the battery circuit to the wiring of the red lamp, so that
when the calling subscriber hangs his receiver on the
hook the opening of the iudLcator battery circuit influ-
ences the relay and releases the armature. The contact
a is thus broken, the contact b is closed and the red lamp
is lighted, signifying that the conversation is ended and
that the Hues are ready for clearing. The "A" operator
thereupon removes the plug from the " B " trunk spring
jack, the plug drops into its receptacle, the red light is
extinguished and the circuits are again in normal condi-
tion so far as the "A" board is concei-ned.

X.

It has been showndiow, on the incoming " B " board
where a subscriber's call originates, the call is made
manifest by the dropping of the subscriber's indicator
shutter, and how that shutter is automatically restored
when the operator plugs the call over on the " A "
trunk to the " A " board. It must now be clear how
the "A" operator receives botli calling and clearing
signals, and when it is stated that the clearing signals
are made to appear on the incoming " B " board
simultaneously- with their appearance on the :i A "
board, through the placing thereon of a relay-indicator
wired in multiple with the one-thousand ohm relay on
the " A " board, it will be equally clear how the clearing
signal on the incoming " B " board is given. The " B "
board relay-iudicator is the practical equivalent of the
one-thousand olim relay on the " A " board with the ex-
ception that it controls only the clearing indicator and
therefore has but a single contact point shown as g, h, in
Fig. 8.

The action of the " B " operator's indicator on the
outgoing board will be understood by reference to Fig 8.
The ringing key contains three sets of contacts by
means of which the sides m n, of the " B " trunk plug
may be thrown in contact at once with the points i.j,
forming the terminals of the " B " trunk, or with the
points k, I, constituting the poles of the magneto M.

In its normal position the ringing key is as shown
in the drawing, when the trunk line continues uninter-
ruptedly to the trunk plug, but on throwing the key
forward the trunk plug is taken from the trunk line
and pressed against the magneto terminals k, I, which
sends the magneto or calling current on the line of the
called or outgoing subscriber. Simultaneously with this
the riugiug key closes the circuit between the points a,
b, which actuates the lower magnet B of the compound
relay shown in the drawing and illustrated in Figure 6 as
I. The magnet B attracts the armature C from the
back stop c to its core when the act of the operator in
taking the magneto current off the subscriber's line
breaks the circuit of the magnet B at the points a, b, and
the armature C falls back closing the lamp circuit at the
point e. This point is platinum tipped and constitutes
the means for the closing of the circuit of the battery A to

the white lamp G. The lamp remains burning until the
called subscriber takes the receiver off the hook which
closes the circuit of the indicator battery as shown else-
where and actuates the trunk clearing indicator shown.
This is the indicator illustrated as D in Fig. 6 and pre-
viously referred to as the practical equivalent of the
one-thousand ohm relay in use on the " A " board, and
it will be noted that when energised its single contact
points g, h, will be closed throwing the local lamp
battery A upon the upper magnet / of the compound
relay, which results in the raising of the lever/ liberat-
ing the armature C and opening the circuit of the white
lamp at the ratchet point e. It will thus be seen that
the " B " operator is fully advised of the condition of the
line of the called subscriber even though she has no
means of cutting into the circuit and listening to con-
versations. The lighting of the white lamp indicates
the proper transmission of the call to the called sub-
scriber and the subscriber's response thereto is indicated
by the extinguishing of the light. The conversation be-
ing finished, the called subscriber replaces the receiver

Fig. 11. — The "Express" System.
Subscriber's Set Complete.

on its hook thus opening the circuit of the indicator
battery and restoring the trunk clearing indicator. The
operator being thus informed that the conversation is
ended, pulls the plug from its spring-jack which takes
the indicator battery off the subscriber's line and places
the subscriber's battery thereon, thus restoring the " B "
board and the subscriber's line to their normal condition.

XI.

An interesting feature of the " Express " system lies
in the use of storage battery exclusively for all exchange
purposes and the advantages accruing from this proceed-
ure are most pronounced. How this is done, will be
best explained by describing the system as actually

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i.

operated by the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph in
San Francisco to-day. The telephone system of San
Francisco comprises about 5700 subscribers, apportioned
between five exchanges, as follows :

Main Exchange 3000 Subscribers

East Branch Office 800 "

South " " 800 "

West " " 800 "

Mission" " 300 "

Total, 5700 Subscribers
The subscribers of the Main Exchange are handled
either through the Main office or through one of its
three sub-offices, respectively known as the " Drumm,"
"Front "and " Grant " sub-offices, and each sub-office
contains only " B " equipments that trunk through to
the Main office with the same facility and practically
under the same conditions that would prevail were they
located in the operating room of the same exchange.
These five exchanges and three sub-offices, constituting
eight offices, are located throughout the city, at distances
varying from one to three miles from the main exchange,
and are all operated from two sets of storage batteries in
the Main Exchange.

Each of these batteries contains eight 150 ampere-hour
cells connected in series, one of which known as the
subscriber's battery, operates the subscribers' lines
and indicators of every telephone in the city, and the
other battery, known as the indicator battery, operates
all indicators, except subscribers' indicators, in the eight
offices named.

As originally installed, the subscribers' and indicator
circuits of each " Express " section in San Francisco,
were operated from open circuit battery, each such cir-
cuit requiring twenty cells, and each such section being
independent of all others. Although this arrangement
gave no more trouble than ordinarily occurs in the use
of open circuit battery, it was not deemed sufficiently
satisfactory, and gradually each section of the switch-
board was thrown upon the accumulators until now the
entire system has been so operated for over eighteen
months. The battery circuits are distributed to the
various branch and sub-offices by circuits of No. 10 B.
& S. bare copper wire supported on poles, and an aston-
ishing feature is that considering all demands including
leakage, the output of the subscriber's battery for the en-
tire system of 5700 subscribers varies between one and
one-and-one-half amperes, never exceeding two amperes,
while the current output of the indicator battery is but
five amperes during the hours of heaviest service, all
at about 18 volts. The maximum output of these bat-
teries is therefore, but 126 watts, the cost of which com-
pared with the cost of operating the system by open cir-
cuit batteries, is insignificant. The service rendered by
the accumulators is moreover infinitely superior to that
from other batteries.

XII.

Eemembering that the permanent terminals of all
subscriber's lines are located as individual spring jacks
on " B " boards, each subscriber's line having but one
such spring jack in the whole exchange, and that the
chief functions of each "A" operator are : (1) To ascer-
tain from the calling or incoming subscriber the number
of the called or outgoing subscriber and (2) to close the
ends of such subscribers' circuits as the " B " operators
in charge of the sections containing the permanent
spring jacks of the calling and called subscribers re-
spectively, may extend over to her section of the "A"
board ; and assuming that subscriber JSTo. 409 desires to
converse with subscriber No. 1510, the modus operandi

of switching in the exchange will be as follows, it being
further assumed that both subscribers are located in the
same exchange.

The act of the calling subscriber (No. 409) in taking
the receiver off the hook will send a call in on the " B "
board which will be received on the 400 section and in-
dicated on subscriber's indicator No. 409. The operator
in charge of the section says nothing to any one, but ex-
tends the line of the calling subscriber over to the "A"
switchboard by inserting the plug of an idle "A" trunk
into spring jack No. 409. This simple act automatically
restores the subscriber's indicator on the " B " board and
lights a white indicator lamp on the "A" board desig-
nating the particular "A" trunk plugged in and indicat-
ing that an unanswered call is thereon. The call being
thus transferred to the "A" board, the " B " operator
receiving the original annunciation is relieved from lis-
tening to the call and from any further effort whatever
in completing the switch, unless, perhaps, the called sub-
scriber happens to be on the same section.

The "A" operator presses forward the listening key
which cuts her instruments into the "A" trunk designa-
ted by the lighting of the white indicator lamp and also
into circuit with the calling subscriber whom she asks
" Number? " and who replies " 1510."

The "A" operator raises the listening key to a vert-
ical position, thereby cutting her instruments out of cir-
cuit with the calling subscriber and then depresses the
order wire key connecting her instruments with the
head telephone of the "B "operator in charge of the
1500 section of the " B " board ; that is, the section on
which is located the terminal of the lines of the called
subscriber.

The "A" operator next calls the number wanted to
the outgoing " B " operator in charge of the 1500 section
of the " B " board, the conversation between the two
operators being carried on over the order wire exclu-
sively, entirely free from the subscriber's circuits. The
" B " operator notes that " B " trunk No. 3, for instance,
is idle and saying to the "A" operator " On 3," places
the plug forming the terminal of " B " trunk No. 3 into
the spring jack, forming the terminal of the line of the
outgoing subscriber (1510), while simultaneously the
"A" operator places the plug forming the terminal of
the "A", trunk designated by the burning of the
white indicator lamp and on which she has received
subscriber No. 409, call into the spring jack form-
ing the terminal of " B "-trunk No. 3, thus completing
the circuit from the calling subscriber's instrument to
the " B " operator of the section of the " B " board upon
which terminates the line of the called subscriber.

This completes the switch so far as the "A"
operator is concerned as she is not required to supervise
the call or to ascertain if the party called for answers.
It is upon the outgoing "B " operator that this duty de-
volves and after having plugged the " B " trunk into
the spring-jack forming the terminal of line 1510 which
completes the circuit through from the calling sub-
scriber to the called subscriber, the "B" operator de-
presses the ringing key and throws the magneto or call-
ing current on to the called subscriber's line. This act
also lights a white miniature incandescent lamp on the
" B " board indicating to the operator that the call has
been properly transmitted. When the subscriber re-
sponds by raising the receiver from the hook the lamp
is extinguished and the clearing indicator is thrown
showing that the line is in use. Thus is given positive
information as to whether the subscriber has been called
and has or has not responded ( in which event he will
be rung up again ) or whether he is using the line.
Upon completing the conversation the called subscriber

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

i'3

replaces the telephone on the hook which restores the
clearing indicator and informs the outgoing " B "
operator that the conversation is finished and that the
line may be restored. The operator is thus enabled to
determine at any and all times the condition of the line.
The red lamp indicators on the " A " and incoming
"B" boards will" show for disconnection when the
calling subscriber has completed the conversation and
replaced his telephone. The plugs of the " A " trunk of
both the " A " and " B " boards are then removed from
the spring-jacks by the respective operators and are al-
lowed to drop into their sockets, which extinguishes the
red lamps. It will thus be seen that the switching of
the line of the calling subscriber on to that of a called
subscriber requires the momentary attention of the "B "
operator ; the incoming " B " operator receiving the
original call, instantly plugs it over to an " A :' operator
and gives it no further attention whatever, until the
lighting of a red indicator lamp gives notification that
the conversation is ended and the plug is to be pulled
from its spring-jack. The " A " operator takes the call
and transfers it to the outgoing " B " operator in charge
of the section on which the called subscriber is located
which completes the " A " operator's part of the switching
until the burning of the red lamp notifies her that the
plug may be withdrawn. The outgoing " B " operator
merely closes the final gap between the ends of the
subscribers lines and ascertains by visual signals
whether or not the called subscriber has responded,
which together with removing the plug at the close of
the conversation, completes her duty. By this means
the work of switching is evenly divided between "A"
and " B " operators, and' the handling of calls in even
the largest exchanges may be done with great facility
and perfect satisfaction, with apparatus much less ex-
pensive than that ordinarily used.

XIII.

An innovation both practicable and interesting which
has been first applied with success in the "Express" sys-
tem consists in the use of phonographs for the notification
of calling subscribers when their calls cannot be answered
because of " busy " or of the failure of the called sub-
scriber t© i-espond. In the main exchange are two or-
dinary office phonographs, the tube of each of which is
connected to an individual solid back long distance
transmitter by means of the soft rubber tubing ordinarily
used in phonograph work, the tubing being centered in
a membrane drawn tightly over the mouth-piece of the
transmitter. One of these phonographs, known as the
"Busy" phonograph, speaks the words " Busy, call
again " incessantly, and the other, known as the " No
reply " phonograph, says " Subscriber called for does
not reply," in an equally industrious manner.

The secondaries of the induction coils for the phono-
graph transmitters are carried to the sections of the
proper switchboards in multiple, that is, the secondary
of the "Busy" phonograph appears on each section of
the "A" board in the form of a spring jack, and the
secondary of the " No reply " phonograph appears on
each section of the "B" board also in the form of a
spring jack. To illustrate the use of the apparatus: if
subscriber No. 409 desires subscriber No. 1510 and the
outgoing " B " operator notes that 1510 is busy, she
merely says to the "A" operator over the order wire,
" busy," and the "A" operator simply inserts the plug
forming the terminal of the "A" trunk into the phono-
graph spring jack. Subscriber No. 409 then hears the
words : " Busy, call again," from which he understands
that No. 1510 is engaged in conversation elsewhere, and
that he is to call up the party again later. He then

hangs the receiver on its hook which actuates the in-
dicators and the lines are cleared as at the end of a con-
versation. The other phonograph throws out the
words: " Subscriber called for does not reply," on the
calling subscriber's instruments after the outgoing " B "
operator finds that she cannot ring up the called sub-
scriber and when she places the plug forming the ter-
minal of the " B " trunk into the phonograph jack. The
clearing indicators are then actuated as before.

These two phonographs operate the entire exchange
and their use relieves operators from a material amount
of labor in conversing with subscribers who soon learn
that the phonograph has an exemplary disposition and
that " sassing " it is productive of no particular amuse-
ment or gain.

There yet remaius a feature of the Express system
that works great economy in the cost of installing a sys-
tem by reason of eliminating the necessity of carrying
subscribers' lines, whether on aerial or underground" cir-
cuits, through to the exchange individually. This is ac-
complished by the establishing of semi-exchanges,
known as " sub-offices " in various sections of business
districts and terminating subscribers' lines in such sub-
offices. Only " B " boards are located at these points,
and the " B " operators in sub-offices trunk through to
"A" operators in the main exchange over "A" trunks
with the same facility and rapidity that they would do
were the sub-office " B " boards located in the main ex-
change. Branch offices differ from sub-offices in that
they contain "A" boards as well as " B " boards. They
are therefore complete exchanges. ,

XIV.

The problem of expediting the handling of sub-
scribers' lines in exchanges is tantamount to any pre-
sented to the telephone engineer for solution, and the
means by which is at once accomplished the greatest fa-
cility and -satisfaction yet attained in switching, is in
the use of the trunking system. This is noteworthy,
as trunking has generally, from the earliest days of
telephony, been looked upon at best as a Decessary
evil. The express system is essentially a trunking sys-
tem throughout, whether installed in main, branch or
sub-offices, or whether used between either of these
offices, but it is, in reality, an elaboration rather than
a modification of trunking in its familiar sense. It
seems quite improbable that communication may be es-
tablished between two subscribers by means of devices
requiring the momentary attention and actions of three
operators, with more facility than can be done by a sin-
gle operator upon whose board is found the terminals of
the lines of both the calling and called subscribers,
and whose practically only act is to loop the lines to-
gether. In an abstruse sense this would be an impos-
sibility, but the latent factor which resolves the situa-
tion into an established fact rests principally in the
training that the telephoning public unconsciously re-
ceives from the use of an appliance run on such strict
business principles as is the Express system. The sub-
scriber soon learns to respond to the ringing of the
bell without a moment's delay, or otherwise he will
lose the call, and having done so he is cognizant of
the fact that whatever business the calling subscriber
had to transact will be lost unless the calling sub-
scriber rings up again. In other words, the policy of
the express system is that subscribers must attend to
their own business and not rely on central in any
manner for reminders of business that has not been at-
tended to.

14

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i.

The extraordinarily favorable results obtained with
the Express system, as exhibited in the accompanying
plots (Figures 12 and 13), showing the average time of
local and trnnked connections respectively on the
switchboards in No. 1 office, San Francisco, in the Milk-
street office, Boston, and in the Cortlandt-street office,
New York, graphically portray the , various acts that
consume time in switching. The plots are so very
clear that no detailed explanation of them appears
necessary beyond the statement that the Express sys-
tem is used in San Francisco, while the Boston and
New York offices are equipped with modern multiple

If

Qrr/ce - Sjn Fsmnc/jco

1 r

M/at Sr Orr/ce. Sostqa

TxtZZwf

\A

Coktlandt Jr Orr/er Nfw YoftK

f

la x> so *4

TIMC Ift 3CCOHDS.

Fig. 12— Plot Showing Avekage Time of Local Connections on Tele-
phone Switchboards— San Francisco Using " Express " Boards,
and Boston and New York Using " Multiple " Boards.

boards. The data from which the charts were made
was collected by Mr. Theodore Spencer, the well-known
telephone engineer of the American Bell Telephone
.Company, which places their accuracy above question.

It may be well, however, to call attention to a few
sapient points that the charts emphasize. As stated,
the San Francisco office being equipped on the Express,
or essentially trunk system throughout, presents the
same record in making local connections as in making
trunk connections, but the time consumed in the old
form of trunking common to multiple board systems, and
as shown in the Boston and New York characteristics,
foims a very serious item. The waiting period on the
multiple board also considerably exceeds that indicated
for San Francisco, which is largely due to the reason
given, that when a subscriber on an Express system hears
a call he must make it his business to respond. With
the multiple system, however, the called subscriber real-
izing that the calling subscriber does the ringing, will
take his time in responding. In brief, a large propor-
tion of the time consumed in switching in multiple
systems is due to the slowness and indifference of sub-
scribers in executing the acts that they are expected to
and must perform. The advantage held by the Express
system in this regard rests, therefore, in the fact that
the public has no duty whatever to perform except to re-
move the receiver from the hook when called and to re-
place it thereon at the close of the conversation.

A peculiarity of the diagrams is in the different
lengths of the talking periods, varying from 54 seconds
in San Francisco to 110 secouds in New York, and in
this connection a regret may be expressed that similar
characteristics are not at hand from Chicago in order
that the propriety of that hated charge of '' windiness "
may be forever settled in the findings of a strictly scien-
tific and unprejudiced investigation.

XV.

The expediency of equipping a telephone exchange
with this or that system resolves itself into the old ques-

tion of commercial practicability — the issue that so un-
relentingly condemns the fond but visionary hopes of
many inventors. All untried schemes must be consid-
ered in the light of ventures, but this article deals with
systems that have been demonstrated by hard practical
use to be reliable and of commercial utility. Compari-
sons are not odious when improved conditions result
therefrom, hence there is no objection to showing as
briefly and as succinctly as is possible, the relative ad-
vantages and disadvantages of the two systems that
must soon compete for supremacy in the equipment of
telephone exchanges, whether large or small. The rela-
tive merits of" Multiple " and " Express" systems are
as follows :

The " Multiple " Switchboard. Advantages — 1. A
single operator completes the entire switching, hence the
greatest possible simplicity in working.

Disadvantages — 1. Complexity in switchboard wir-
ing ; hence

2. Excessive first cost, and

3. Excessive cost of maintenance.

4. Incurs an objectionable increase in the electro-
static capacity of the subscribers' lines because of the
enormous amount of switchboard wiring.

5. Injury to a single section by fire, water or other-
wise, renders the entire exchange inoperative until
repaired.

6. The great number of working contacts creates a
serious liability of trouble because of the occurrence of
open circuits in the old style board and of short circuits
in the new style board.

7. The necessity of applying a manual test for
" busy " before a switch can be made.

8. Difficulty of locating switchboard troubles.

9. Excessive cost of making additions, each of which
requires not only the adding of a new section, but also
the making of additions to the lines of each subscriber
entering the exchange.

10. High rates of insurance because of ready sus-
ceptibility to damage by fire and water.

The " Express " System. Advantages — 1. Low first
cost ; being not in excess of one-third that of a multiple
board of equal capacity.

2. A single terminal for each subscriber, securing
absolute simplicity in terminal wiring on the board.

'/Crr/ec. San f#Jt/c/feo

1 !
i «

Mine Sr Or rice -Bosrort

1 1 y*

- 6r O/rrcc Ncer ton

: ri* jcconos

Fig. 13.— Plot Showing Average Time of Trunked Connections in Tel-
ephone Switchboards— San Francisco Using " Express " Boards,
and Boston and New York Using " Multiple " Boards.

3. Elimination of the troubles consequent to a great
number of working contacts in multiple or in series.

4. Absolute independence of each section from all
other sections.

5. Minimum cost of maintenance.

6. Ease of locating switchboard^troubles.

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

15

7. Automatic visual signals relieve operators from
all testing, listening for responses, etc.

8. Impossibility of rendering the whole exchange
inoperative because of injury by fire, water or otherwise
to a single section ; hence

9. Low rates of insurance because of minimum sus-
ceptibility to damage by fire or water.

10. Ease'.and comparative inexpensiveness of mak-
ing additions, since the cost of a switchboard increases
directly with the size.

11. It is an all-trunk sj'Stem.

12. Highest rapidity yet attained in exchange
switching.

13. All signals from subscribers are transmitted au-
tomatically, hence with unfailing precision.

14. Enables the establishing of sub-offices, as de-
scribed, thereby reducing the investment in line wires or
underground cables oftimes enormously.

Apparent Disadvantages — 1. The services of actually
three, and practically two operators are required to com-
plete each switch.

XVI.

The " Express " system has established the fact of
its superiority over multiple switchboards, which have
hitherto been conceded to be the only means by which
the business of large exchanges could be handled to an}^
degree of satisfaction. San Francisco, the home of the
system, has tried it long and thoroughly. Electrical en-
gineers whose names are bywords in the world of tele-
phony have visited the city by the Golden Gate that
they might themselves examine the system claimed to
be superior to the multiple system, j'et which had ven-
tured to depart from the lines of construction univer-
sally accepted as correct, and having examined it, have
been satisfied, and they too confirm its worth. Now
Chicago, true to the spirit that has made its name a
synonym of progression, is displacing the old method
with the new. The telephone world will watch the
change with interest, but even so it cannot be said that
the " Express " system is in the balance, for it has been
weighed and not found wanting.

Qducational,

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AT THE UNIVER-
SITY OF CALIFORNIA.

The courses in electrical engineering for the Univer-
sity of California come under the heading of the Depart-
ment of Mechanical Engineering, of which F. G. Hesse
is Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Frederick Slate,
B. S., is Professor of Physics, Clarence L. Cory, M. M. E.,
is Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering. L. F.
Chesebrough is Instructor in Mechanic Arts and in
charge of machine shops, and J. N. Le Conte, M. M. E.,
is Assistant in Mechanics.

The lectures on electrical engineering are delivered
by Professor Cory, and will be upon the following sub-
jects during the academic year of 1895-96 :

Electrical Machinery. Construction of electrical
batteries and measuring instruments, and their selection
for special testing. Discussion of the design and con-
struction of continuous-current electrical machinery;
its application to electric lighting and power distribu-
tion. Laboratorv tests and designing.

Electrical "Engineering.— (a) Alternating Currents
and Alternating- Current Machinery. Theory, generation
and applications of single and polyphase alternating
currents; effects of self-induction and capacity in cir-
cuits ; discussion of the construction and design of gen-
erators, transformers and other alternating-current ap-
paratus.

(b) Electricity in Engineering and Principles of Electri-
cal Installation. Discussion of the design, equipment and
management of electrical stations ; electric lighting, tel-
egraph and telephone circuits ; long-distance transmis-
sion of power by electricity from water power, and spe-
cial applications of electricity to industrial purposes.

(c) Electrical Laboratory and Designing. Practice in
the laboratory and draughting-room, illustrating the
work of the classroom.

The degree of Electrical Engineer was conferred
upon the following graduates of the term just closed :
H. W. Corbett, Ch. J. Fox, Olcott Haskell, R. B. Hoff-
man, J. E. Strachan.

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AT STANFORD
UNIVERSITY.

Believing that American practice has justified the
separation of the Electrical Engineer from the Electrical
Manufacturer, and that it has defined the Engineer to be
one who is engaged upon the solution of practical prob-
lems by the aid of obtainable apparatus, the Electrical
Engineering courses of the Leland Stanford Junior Uni-
versity, as shown by the Register for 1894-5, just is-
sued, have been planned for the constructor of engineer-
ing work rather than for the manufacturer of machinery.
While keeping this aim in view the rapid changes in the
profession have not been lost sight of, and the underly-
ing principles of correct design are dwelt upon to such
an extent as well fit the Engineer to arrive at just
decisions on the merits of established or proposed
methods.

The classes in Electrical Engineering are under the
instructorship of Prof. F. A. C. Perrine, D. Sc, assisted
by Mr. Farmer, and the Undergraduate Courses consist
of lectures in (1) Constructive Materials and Machinery,
« (2) Application and Design, (3) Central Station Design
and Management, (4) Engineering Construction, and (5)
Recent Applications of Electricity.

Special Graduate Courses will be offered in a series
of lectures by Prof. Perrine on (6) Dynamo Machinery
Design, (7) The Theory and Practice of the Design of
Inductive Apparatus, (8) Telegraphy and Telephony,
and (9) Special Applications of Electricity.

Entrance examinations for the next semester be-
gins on Monda}', Sept. 2d.

The following class is the first to matriculate the
full four years in Electrical Engineering at Stanford :
Arthur Hardin Burnett, Tulare ; Benson Clare Condit,
Riverside ; Robinson Crowell, San Francisco ; Paul
Milton Downing, Palo Alto ; Elmer Elsworth Farmer,
Palo Alto ; Donald Hume Fry, Areata ; Ernest Chcsney
Hay ward, Victoria, B. C; Walter Spalding Hyde, San
Francisco ; James Terry Langford, Lodi ; Roland Harry
Manahan, Pasadena, Maurice William O'Brien, San
Jose; Thomas Henry Pomeroy, Oswego, Or.; William
Henry Reeves Jr., Seattle, Wash.; Edmund Carmel
Southwick, Mayfield ; Harry Clinton Thaxter, Palo
Alto; John West Thompson, Redwood City; George
Lyman Wood worth, Palo Alto.

THE NATIONAL SCHOOL OF ELECTRICITY.

Mr. F. D. Wallaker has recently been appointed
Western Agent of the National School of Electricity,
with headquarters at Denver, Colorado, where, in a
brief time, a class of ninety-five was organized with
Mr. Irving Hale as Instructor and Mr. Lewis Searing
as Chairman. . It is announced that the organization
of classes in San Francisco and elsewhere on the Pacific
Coast will be commenced at an early date.

i-6

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i.

Wf\* SEtettrital Journal*

An Illustrated Review of the Industrial Applications of
Electricity, Gas and Power.

EDITED BV

F. A. C. PERRINE, D. Sc, and GEO. P. LOW.

Subscription .... One Dollar per Year in Advance.
Advertising Rates Furnished on Application.

PUBLISHED MOflTHLiV BY GEO. P. LiOW,

303 California Street San Francisco.

volume 1.

JULY, 1895.

NUMBER 1.

EDITORIAL.

The Electrical Journal is instituted
in the belief that the publication of a
let actions strictly first class paper, devoted to the
speak. industrial applications of electricity, gas

and power, will find a welcome and
prove a profitable undertaking. It ex-
tends no assurances other than of accuracy, indepen*
dence and impartiality, and knowing that the goal of
success it hopes to reach can only be attained through
intrinsic worth, it realizes that it will be judged by its
works rather than by its promises.

Technical journalism is so done and overdone that
the publication of a new paper is regarded, if not with
suspicion, at least with wonder. What reason has this
journal for existence, and what can it have to say that
is worth hearing ? It is said of every new venture of
the kind that some one has discovered or thinks he has
discovered a workable field of patronage. Is it this and
nothing more ?

But consider the promoters in a more friendly vein
for a moment, and it may be that they shall prove them-
selves worthy of confidence. It is true that all men who
are doing the world's work are specialists, and the more
each man specializes, the more successful that mau be-
comes. But few indeed cau make discoveries or inven-
tions along many lines; nay, even how many are able to
study and apply all there is which bears upon one line, or
even one point of a single line. The dynamo tender needs
the aid of the electrician, the electrician of the physicist,
and he in turn must look for assistance to the chemist,
the mechanical engineer, the civil engineer, and the man-

ufacturer, as well as to the mathematician and the phi-
losopher. All men's work, therefore, bears upon each
man's specialty, and all men must hope to obtain from
the journalist the " news " of what the others are doing
that they may carry their owu work on to its completion.
Does any technical journal fulfill this task for its branch
completely? We believe not, and judge there yet is
room for a new journal, aud that new men will have
something of service to offer.

The value of a new journal to its readers will depend
upon its command of authors capable of telling in an
authorative manner of what has been done, and what is
doing, and what is to be done. Perhaps the editors majr
add but little of value to the work of the writers, but the
earnest they give is that they will offer the fruits of
faithful gleanings from wide fields of experience, investi-
gation and research.

Neither creed or belief then shall receive further
discussion, nor shall any hope be expressed but that this
venture will merit both confidence and support through
the attainment of its aims of honest3r and breadth and
helpfulness.

Two papers have been read at the in-
formal dinners held by the Pacific Coast

ELECTRICAL , „ , J . _ ■ ;

engineering members of the American Institute of

on the Electrical Engineers during the past

pacific coast. . ° & r

winter which have excited sufficient in-
terest to lead to the belief that in part at
least they are worth preserving. The first paper, pre-
sented by Dr. F. A. C. Perrine, discussed " The Technical
Training of an Electrical Engineer for Practice on the
Pacific Coast," and the second on " The Field of Opera-
tions of an Electrical Engineer," was delivered by Mr.
E. J. Molera. The last named paper, which is reprinted
elsewhere in this issue, was designed as a reply to the
doubts expressed by a member at the previous meeting
as to the usefulness of the many trained engineers now
entering the electrical profession, and the writer most
completely defines the field of the engineer which makes
him truly an engineer and not merely an artisan — a man
with skill to build and a foundation to build upon.

Dr. Perrine began by calling attention to the fact that
the electrical engineering education in most of the tech-
nical schools is aimed to fit a man to be primarily a
designer of electro-dynamic machinery or a manufac-
turer, and little attention is devoted to fitting men for
positions when their principal duties consist in the de-
sign and erection of engineering works or for acting in
the capacity of advisers to choose between the various
methods of solving engineering problems. It is left to
the future training obtained in the shops of the manu-
facturing companies to develop these capabilities and
there the utmost care is taken that as much of bias for
one system shall be given as is possible. Such training-
leaves the engineering undertakings on the Pacific Coast

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

17

at the mercy of the great manufacturers, and indeed the
bias given to engineers trained in this manner forms the
principal subject of adverse comparison of our electrical
engineering with that in England and on the Continent
recently made by Mr. H. Ward Leonard.

We have not here the manufacturer of general elec-
trical appliances, nor many shops for repairs or labora-
tories for the standardization of instruments and the
successful engineer amongst us must be trained to be
ready with wit and skill to correct all sorts of deficiencies
in the apparatus furnished him and to avoid many acci-
dental obstacles. In fact, our needs call for a universality
of talents and training which is perhaps impossible to
obtain completely except as a born gift, but with the aim
of producing the self dependant man and with a knowl-
edge of the material at hand our education must approach
their ideal.

The student on the Pacific Coast is, as a rule, a man
who depends upon his own resources for support, not
only after his years of training, but often before and
during these years, and it is rarely that he has received
the most complete preliminary instruction. His tech-
nical education must, therefore, begin with a most
thorough course in mathematics, physics and chemistry,
and in later years a choice must be made between the
complete study of electro-dynamic machinery and the
study of branches more distinctly connected with engi-
neering construction.

With a view to the practical needs of the Pacific
Coast engineer it, therefore, seems most wise to educate
the men to be as competent critics as is possible of ma-
chinery and methods proposed by the manufacturer and
to train them at once for the duties of engineer to plan
and erect engineering undertakings.

^iteratizre.

It is not altogether an uninteresting
diversion to see three leading electrical
m?,™^™ papers chafing over the time-worn moot-
venerableness. point of venerableness, as from informa-
tion at hand it would appear unquestion-
able that our esteemed prototype, the
Electrical Engineer is really the "oldest" publication as it
claims, and that our newsy friend, the Electrical Review,
is entitled to the distinction of being the " oldest weekly."
As for the " Pioneer " journal, Webster defines the word
as expressing " one who goes before to remove obstruc-
tions or prepare the way for another," or, in plainer
terms, a pioneer is one who steps aside that another may
pass on. It is advisable then, if there must be a contro-
versy, that it be confined to the journals named, or the
third must either alter its plea or stand convicted on its
own evidence.

The Electrical Journal rests content in the knowl-
edge that no one can dispute the claim that to-day it
stands as the " newest " electrical publication in America,
if not in the world, and here again the same authority
sapiently defines the word "new" as "recent, fresh,
modern."

Clearly then the motto of The Electrical Journal
shall be : " The Newest Electrical Publication in America."

A Manual of Telephony, by William Henry Preece, F. R.
S., Engineer-in-Chief and Electrician, General Post Office, and
Arthur J. Stubbs, Technical Officer, General Post Office, London,
1893: 508 pages, 8 vo., cloth, fully illustrated. For sale by The
Electrical Journal. Price, $4.50, post free.

There is perhaps to-day no more up-to-date manual
for telephonists than the work which forms the subject
of this review, yet this expression of endorsement is not
unqualified for in truth no book which has yet appeared
contains a full and complete exposition of the workings
of the modern, well-equipped telephone exchange of to-
day. But this perhaps is not to be hoped for consider-
ing the marvellous development in telephone exchanges,
and considering that in no country has the handling of
subscribers' lines settled dowu to clear cut, well-defined
practices. Preece and Stubbs' work is indeed, more than
all others, a manual that will be appreciated by all tele-
phonists, whether in large or small exchanges, and ex-
perimenters will find it of historic and practical value.
The authors, having had exceptional facilities for inves-
tigating the commercial side of telephony, have not
hesitated to give a generous share of their experiences
to their readers in the shape of circuit diagrams gener-
ally drawn to scale, formulae, and such data and specifi-
cations as will enable the experimenter to deduce
dimensions for the construction of an induction coil
giving maximum intensity and clearness of sound in a
telephone, for instance. Equally well will it enable the
line foreman to effect the greatest possible neutralization -
of induction by the arrangement of wires on his pole
linos, as also will it enable the engineer to determine the
capacity of lines under given conditions or on the limiting
distance of speech. In brief it forms a universal hand-
book of telephony, complete to its date. The tendency
to favor description of English practices, and particu-
larly that of the British Post Office, is pardonable, but
the authors frankly admit their partiality when in the
preface they say :

" Telephony, in the broad principles of its practical
application, tends increasingly to become cosmopolitan ;
so that, although English practice generally is more
specially described, Continental systems are not excluded,
and the principal points of practice in America — the
home of the art — are fairly represented."

A conscientious adherence to the idea which seems
to have been held by the authors that there is a need for
a publication concerning the practical applications of the
art of telephony has made the work what it professes
and is commended to be, '■ A Manual of Telephony,"
more full and complete than any yet published.

The Electric Current ; How Produced and How Used, by
R. Mullineux Walmsley, D. Sc. (Lond.), F. R. S. E., etc.: 754
pages, 379 illustrations, 8 vo., cloth. Published by Cassell and
Company, Ld., London, and for sale by The Electrical Jour-
nal. Price, $3.00, post free.

Here is found in a single, handy volume, a reason-
ably comprehensive exposition of each and every appli-
cation of the electric current in the service of man,
together with descriptions of the various processes by
which electrical energy may be produced. The work is
divided into three distinct parts, treating of the Pro-
duction, the Laws and the Applications of the Electric
Current, respectively, each of which forms a more than
elementary manual of information concerning that por-
tion of the science to which it is devoted. Evidently the
author appreciates the fact that readers of electrical
literature have had a surfeit of historical matters or
descriptions of the phenomena of Electrostatics, for
these themes are dismissed after having received such

i8

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL,

[Vol. I, No. i.

brief consideration as is reverentially due them in a
work of this character. In fact a similar consideration
is shown all through the book, and if the author has a
hobby in the production, the laws or the applications
of the electric current, he has most skillfully concealed
it, as his writings bear no evidence of partiality or favor-
itism to any particular branch or theory. Each is given
such consideration as its importance demands. The
book cannot be considered as elementary, for it treats of
matters beyond the first principles of the science, al-
though first principles are fully expounded, nor can it
be classed in the catalogue of advanced treatises on
electro-technology : instead it forms a happy medium
that deserves popularity, at least because it is a volume
that, while not aspiring to encyclopaedic proportions, yet
contains in clear, concise and simple language an explan-
ation of the basic principles of each and every applica-
tion or relation of the electric current, whether informa-
tion is desired concerning chemical reactions, metallurgy,
telephony, polyphase transmission of power or even the
fire-fly's secret.

Electricity as a Fire Hazard, by W. J. Jenks. A paper
read before the World's Fire Insurance Congress, Chicago, June,
1893. Paper, 73 pages. Published by the General Electric
Company, presumably for gratuitous distribution.

In presenting this book to the public the donors
have performed a service meriting the appreciation of
all who are interested in the common weal. Ordinarily
there is so much of the mysterious about electricity in
the minds of the public that any successful effort in the
way of enlightenment from that unfortunate condition
deserves commendation. Such is a characteristic of Mr.
Jenks' valuable paper, which is, in reality, a comprehen-
sive review of the technical side of electro-insurance
relations during the past sixteen years, freely elaborated
with the views of the author. A reasonable inference is
that the paper, being published by an electric company,
is designed to further the interests of the corporation
fathering it, but despite this, the book is free from bias,
and presents the various hazards of the applications in a
clear lucid way and with profuse colored drawings. It
is a book for fire underwriters as well as for electrical
men, and its publication cannot but remind insurance
interests that their own efforts to restrict the fire hazard
of electricity are no more sincere and earnest than are
those of the legitimate electrical fraternity.

THE EFFICIENCIES OF ELECTEIC PLANTS.

By Sydney Speout, E. E., M. E.

I.

Believing that by far too little has been published con-
cerning the economic features of the operation of plants
for the generation of electricity, the writer proposes to
contribute from time to time as the exigencies of busi-
ness will permit and as occasion may be presented, such
data as may be obtained by actual experiment under
actual working conditions, of plants coming under his
■observation. There will be no effort to make these con-
tributions consecutive for the reasons stated, but the
object will be to give facts whenever opportunity is pre-
sented for unearthing them.

The writer, in investigating a municipal electric
lighting plant with the object of ascertaining the actual
. cost of producing electric energy at various stages of
load, compiled the accompanying tables, whence were
derived the rough curves also accompanying. Having
thus obtained fundamental data it was thought best to
go further into the matter than was originally designed,

although it has not been the object to go into the finest
details of operation, in fact the circumstances of the test
would not permit the most minute investigation. Never-
theless the results will be interesting for comparisons
that I hope will be brought out during the course of
these articles.

The lighting plant herein discussed is equipped with
both arc and incandescent dynamos which are about
equally divided as to the power required for the oper-
ation of each system ; consequently the cost of labor is

F/6.I

$o Uo So

>-ueT»*e XV

F/G.4

It 30 ■>»

30 *1

The Efficiencies of Electric Plants.

divided equally between the two systems, or to put it
another way, the cost of attendance for the incandescent
system is but one-half of what it would be were there
only an incandescent machine in the station. This fact
not only explains why the item of labor is quite small,
but also reduces proportionately several other factors of
expense included in the final results.

The equipment consists of two 75 h. p. tubular boilers,
two 12x16 automatic high speed simple engines, each
rated at 90 h. p. with 240 revolutions per minute and 90
lbs. of steam. These engines were, however, run but to
215 E. P. M. and the engine under consideration is belted
direct to a 60-kilowatt alternator supplying commercial
circuits, the plant being started in the evening at dusk
and shut down at midnight. The other engine is
similarly belted to two 60-light arc machines furnishing
city street lamps on moonlight schedule.

It may be observed that doubtless many have won-
dered at the very favorable showing in the way of
economy that has been made by some small stations such
as this one is, when compared with the larger and better
equipped central stations. The results here given for
example seem quite low, but when we look at the
average load and see that the station is operating under
a load factor of 80, while central stations are frequently
compelled to run under a load factor as low as 25, the
reason for the favorable results herein shown are not
difficult to understand.

Eeturning to the station in hand it will be seen by
reference to the curve shown as Fig. 4, that at a max-
imum load of 60-kilowatts which is not uncommon, the
average load is 48-kilowatts, and in the station in ques-
tion it is found that the cost of producing energy

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL,

19

per 50-watt lamp hour at this stage of load will be
80.0048. On the other hand, in the case of the central
station and reducing it to a common ratio, a maximum
of 60 kilowatts would bring the average down to but 15-
kilowatts which will show the cost per lamp to be three
and three-tenths cents per hour. This shows that a
station that can run only during the hours of heavy load
in the evening, has very great advantages in the way of
economical operation over a station that renders con-
tinuous service twenty-four hours a da}', which is a point
that should not be lost sight of by owners of electric
plants, whether in isolated or central station work, in
their anxiety to deliver to their tenants or patrons a
continuous lighting service. It has often been wondered
why some small stations equipped with more or less
uneconomical apparatus can manage to exist. We kuow
that they do so and that some of them are in apparently
healthy condition and offer service during limited hours
at prices that well equipped large modern central sta-
tions can not afford to meet, but when we consider a

OX THE FIELD OF OPERATIONS OF AN
ELECTEICAL ENGINEER *

Jy E. J. Moleba, M. A. I. E. E.

It is a law of Nature that all developments shall
be done by infinitesimal steps ; so that, from the first
conception of an idea to its practical application to the
needs of man, years of evolution have to pass before the
powers that be take hold of it as an acceptable acquisi-
tion to the valuable fund of man's possessions.

The electric telegraph as a rapid transmission of in-
telligence to complement rapid transportation, was the
first great application of electricity to the wants of man
which demonstrated the great possibilities of that com-
paratively new resource of his power over Nature.

But not until a few years ago when the economical
conversion of mechanic power into electrical energy was
effected was it possible to enter into the field of every
day's necessities by means of electricity in competition

b = —

746
E. H. P.

d

I. H. P.

Lbs. Water
Perl. H. P.

Watts Coal Coal

Perl. H. P. Per I.H. P. Per K.W. II

i = gx .00288 j :

3.80

k = i + j

20

Cost of Coal Wages Int. and TYital Cost

Per Repairs per Cost per 50

K. W. Hour, per K.W. Hour. K. W. Hour. Watt Lamp

15.4
19.8
24.2
25.3
28.8
35.1
39.9
42.2
48.8
52,2
55 . 5
62.2

20.60
26.50
32.40
33 . 90
38.60
47.00
53.58
56.54
65.48
69.79
74.23
81.98

35.60
39 60
43.56
45.50
49.50
57.80
65.93
70.29
83.16
88.11
94.04
100.98

34.00
32.00
30.00
29 . 50
28.30
27.60
27.50
27.40
27.00
27.50
28.00
28.50

432
500
555
555
582
607
606
600
576
592
590
621

4.30
4.05
3. SO
3.70
3.60
3.52
3.47
3.46
3.41
3.47
3.54
3.60

24.67

27 52

1.380

19.19

21.49

1.074

15.70

17.67

.883

15.07

16.40

.819

13.19

14.80

.800

10.82

12.48

.686

9.52

11.54

.577

9.02

11.01

.550

7.79

9.87

.493

7.29

9.42

,471

6.84

9 . 30 ■

- :434

6.28

8.36 1

.418

The Efficiencies of Electric Plants.

station equipped for an output of 40,000 lights and which
delivers only about 5000 lights 18 hours out of 24, there
is no longer reason for doubting the statements of the
central station managers. The station from which was
derived the data given, is operated with the highest
economy attainable, not only because of the unusual
reductions in the items of labor etc., but also because of
the fact that the maximum capacity being 60 kilowatts,
the average load is 48 kilowatts, which is shown by the
water and coal curves to be the most economical point
at which the steam plant can be worked.

The results given in the table were obtained by card-
ing the engines at different periods and at different loads,
and by actual measurement of the water and coal con-
sumed. The cost of labor etc., represents the actual out-
lay, and from the data thus derived the remaining re-
sults were calculated and checked by means of accepted
engineering formula?.

with older methods. The dynamo was employed to
produce light and other commercial commodities, and in
connection with the telephone, which by a fortunate co-
incidence was perfected at the same period, created such
a confidence to capital that Electricity was a magic word
in the world of science as well as in the world of finance.
Then it was when from every profession recruits
were drawn to develop the new field of enterprise : the
telegraph operator, the mechanical engineer, the manu-
facturer and technologist, all gave their contingent to
the army which was to exploit the new Industrial fields,
and they accomplished so many new, rapid and unex-
pected achievements that the great professors in Elec-
tricity were no less astonished than the masses of the
people. It was then that the new profession of Electrical
Engineering was created.

*Abstract of a paper read at the Informal Dinner of the Pacific Coast
members of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, San Francisco,
April 27, 1895.

20

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i,

That imperative call for talent and the splendid
success achieved by some of the votaries of the new art
created such a rush to supply the demand until now,
the former is fully equal to the latter and there is
danger of a surfeit of supply. The problem then, to-
day, is how to prevent such undesirable result, by find-
ing new fields of labor for the new comers rather than
by discouraging the candidates of the new profession.

The young man fresh from college has unfortunately
a great idea of his attainments and consequence and
very little knowledge of the stern realities of life.
There are few positions good enough for him, and,
hearing that there is always room at the top of the
ladder, endeavors to reach there with a jump, forgetting
that those who were lucky enough to attain that emi-
nence did so step by step, and many times after long
and severe struggles.

The sooner he has his conceit knocked out of him
the better for his success. He must learn that no
amount of explanation will teach a man to swim, and in
order to be in it he must obtain perfection with practice.
He will find out how easily a man forgets the prescrip-
tions of books and teachers, and how firmly facts are
retained when bought at the dear price of experience.
Let him understand that success means ability and
application. That he must have some of the first and
supplement it with the second ; that he must acquire
method and accuracy in order to obtain thoroughness ;
lhat he must work details as carefully as he does the
principal parts of his work. He must not disdaiu little
things ; and not try to do everything at once :

Let us be content to work,
To do the thing we can, and not presume
To fret because it's little. 'Twill employ
Seven men, they say, to make a perfect pin.
Who makes the head consents to miss the point ;
Who makes the point agrees to leave the head ;
And if a man should cry "I want a pin,
And I must make it straightaway, head and point,"
His wisdom is not worth the pin he wants.

— Mrs. Browning.

Having the above philosophy in mind, he may en-
ter the field of electrical engineer to give the battle of
his life. The avenues are many. As a votary of elec-
tricity there is hardly a man's want in which this young-
daughter of Science cannot be usefully applied, and iu
which room for improvement cannot be devised. But
as his object probably will be of an immediate necessity
he can better devote his attention to those departments
which are now already organized, and though under the
same field are more or less distinct and separate.

He may chose the department of electro-postal en-
gineer, electro-mechanical engineer, electro-municipal
engineer, electro-constructing engineer, electro-industrial
engineer, electro-consulting engineer, professor of elec-
tricity and inventor. Unfortunately the electrical en-
gineer, unlike the lawyer and the physician, does not
come in contact with the consumer of the productions
of his brain. The nature of the forces in which he deals
invites the man of capital to take control of the promis-
ing discoveries and pass them through the modern com-
mercial manipulations of corporations and trusts with
their shares and bonds, debenture and otherwise, pre-
ferred and common stock with paper scattered broad-
cast to catch the guileless investor. The engineer enter-
ing these big engines of trade is appreciated in propor-
tion to his power to bring profits to the company and
dividends to the stockholders. Hence the efficiency and
real merit of the products of his talent are often ignored
and the cheapness and attractiveness of the goods are
preferred.

There was a time when the electrical engineer was
the constructor and dealer of his own inventions. The

houses of Siemens, of Germany and England, Gaspar,
of Belgium, Sautter et Lemoinier, Breguet and others of
France are conspicuous examples. But to-day the Edi-
son, Thomson-Houston, Westinghouse and other trusts
and companies only mean great aggregations of capital
used to boom their interests, using the names of those
distinguished inventors as money-making means. Some-
times it happens that iu order to consummate their
financial operations they keep from the public knowl-
edge improvements achieved by the iuventors under
whose name they operate.

But we are not considering here the evils of modern
economy but the field of the electrical engineer.

If he should chose to be employed as electro-postal
engineer he will probably engage in the telegraphic or
telephonic departments. Perhaps there is no place to-
day more unpopular for an electrical engineer than the
telegraph operator, and yet from that department some
of the most prominent engineers originated: Edison,
Gray, Chandler, Field and so many others. His oppor-
tunities to exercise his knowledge will be numerous.
The whole range of battery work and different multi-
plex system will engage his energy, no matter how great
it may be. Should he be employed in telephonic work,
before him he will see the problems of greatest distance
telephony, as well as trans-oceanic transmission, waiting
to be solved, and in both departments the utilization of
earth currents for means of transmission of intelligence.
Very little need be said of the field of operations of
the electro-mechauical engineer. Aside of the amount
of knowledge he must use in the proper employment of
metal, whether iron or copper, the proportion of the dif-
ferent parts either in dynamos or motors, how much in-
genuity is needed in giving a garb to the skeleton of the
machine, its stability, its bearing, etc. One only needs
to consider the amount of ingenuity exercised in such a
simple machine as a bicycle wheel to see the importance
of details. What applies to dynamos and motors ap-
plies to cars, to lamps, to all other products, electro-
forging, welding, stamping, electrical transmission — all
are in his field.

I call an electro-municipal engineer an engineer
which I consider should exist in every city of import-
ance. In the same way as we have now a County Sur-
veyor, a City Eugineer and a Superintendent of Streets,
there should be an officer who should represent the city
in all matters relating to electricity. The safety of build-
ings from fire requires that the houses using electric
light or power should be properly wired ; the same ap-
plies to motor-cars. The tracks of electric roads when
used, as is usual for return circuits, should be of suf-
ficient size and metallically bonded in their whole length.
You have seen from the reports of Messrs. Stuart-Smith
and Adams the damages that can be done to the prop-
erty of other city corporations.

The field of the Municipal Engineer, aside from be-
ing the adviser of the city authorities, has under his
care the lighting of streets and warming of buildings,
the electrical care of the Fire Department, the suburban
communication, the under-ground conduits, the distri-
bution of power for small industries. I call electro-
constructing engineer the constructor of small electrical
machines and measuring apparatus. The essential part
of an engineer is the accuracy of his measures ; the ulti-
mate object of his work is the best and most economical
use of the forces at his command, and for that purpose
he must have the greatest assortment and most reliable
measuring instruments. ]S"o amount of ingenuity and
labor are excessive in the designing and construction of
such instruments. This department is of such import-
ance that Lord Kelvin has said : "Accurate and minute

July,

i«95

J

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL

21

measurements seems to the non-scientific imagination a
less lofty and dignified work than looking for something
new. But nearly all the grandest discoveries of science
have been but rewards of accurate measurements and
patient, long-continued labor in the minute sifting of
numerical results."

I have given fhe name of electro-industrial engineer
to the one whose energy is devoted to the manufacture
of commodities by means of electricity. I might have
called it electro-chemical engineer with equal propriety.

Chemistry in modern times has worked a revolu-
tion in the production of commodities. What formerly
was obtained by man directly from the great laboratory
of nature is now in many instances manufactured in the
laboratory of man with greater convenience to himself.
Foods and beverages; paints and dye-stuffs; metals;
materials of construction ; fertilizers; medicines; illn-
minants and articles of all descriptions are prepared by
the chemist. It is a remarkable fact that nearly every
chemical operation can be done, as far as tried, by elec-
trolytic processes, and in most cases with greater ease
and economy. This field of operation is yet in its in-
fancy ; the precipitation of all metals from their solu-
tions ; the manufacture of chemical products, like
chloride of potash, bleaching liquids and caustic soda;
the purification of water ; disinfecting of sewage ; refin-
ing of sugar ; tanning and many other processes are
now already in his field.

Tbe Electro-Consulting Eugiueer is the one who by
original training and subsequent experience is able to
advise on any subject in electricity, can design and
make plans on the same and superintend the carrying-
out of them. It is the goal of all young engineers, and
none excepting those whose reputation rests on achieved
results should undertake this most important branch of
Electrical Engineering. His field is every application
of electricity and has room to employ every power of
his brain every hour of his time "and every effort of his
energy.

The Professor is born, not made. No amount of
learning will make a professor if he has not the faculty
of imparting it to others. He must be plain and direct
in his statements, patient with his pupils and have that
human magnetism which attracts the attention of men
and retains their respect and affection. We must re-
member that the best teaching is by example, and if he
besides the above qualities has practically exercised the
branches he is to teach, the field of his operations is the
most important and the good he does to others of incal-
culable value.

As a money making pursuit, teaching may not be
the most desirable, but the opportunities for scientific
research and original work given to the professor in the
use of fine instruments and leisure time are full of com-
pensation for other losses. Necessity is the mother of
invention. Invention is one of the most uncertain
means of satisfying the necessities of the inventor. By
the univei-sal law of evolution inventions are developed
by degrees so that an invention, we may say, floats in
the air before crystalizing into substantial form. It is
no wonder that when in the race for glory and profit an
inventor reaches the object of his labors, if it be prom-
ising of adequate reward, many dispute his claims, and
the Government protection, which in many cases pro-
tect only the powerful and the wealthy, is put in opera-
tion to deprive him of his dues. "Under the circum-
stances a young engineer should not employ his energies
in that ignis fatuus, but, as many other things, all do it,
he must prepare himself well, before entering the grand-
est and most seductive of all fields of thought. Even
after he has mastered the knowledge of many facts and

the laws governing them, he may not be rewarded in
his efforts to create.

There are some men whose minds are similar to
sponges — which will absorb knowledge as sponges do
water ; but when they bring forth what they have ab-
sorbed it comes as it went in, without change or addi-
tion to what they first acquired. On the other hand,
other minds seem to naturally gather facts, divine laws
and force effects spontaneously. Nothing comes to the
region of their knowledge without being digested and
assimulated to their minds, there to be transformed into
new ideas to originate ways and means for the applica-
cations of the forces of nature to the wants of man.
These are the born inventors. But even they cannot
accomplish great things without a good store of facts
and knowledge of 1 he laws of Nature.

There are two kinds of inventions : Those new
processes of using the laws of nature that fulfill pressing-
necessities of men and which, on account of their
novelty and their extended application, revolutionize
existing methods, and those improvements which with-
out changing the existing processes, perfect them. The
latter are the most numerous, the best to undertake and
generally the most productive. The former are the
most difficult and seldom to be undertaken.

In the matter of invention the first thing that the
would-be inventor should do is, to establish clearly in
his mind the element of the problem before him.

Which are the things that man at the present
moment most desires? Are they at the present time
already supplied ? If so, can they be supplied better
and cheaper than they are now ? Does the proposed in-
vention imply a theoretical impossibility according to
the best knowledge of science at present ?

When he has chosen the object of his investiga-
tions, then he must acquaint himself with all the pro-
cesses, if there be any, employed in accomplishing what
he wants to improve ; and if not, everything similar to
it in other branches of science and arts.

Knowing that what he proposes to do would be an
improvement on existing methods, that it does not con-
tradict the conservation of energy and in other respects
is not a heresy of science, he then can formulate his
plan of accomplishing it, in a new and better way, what-
ever problem he desives to solve.

After that comes the experimental trial ; it will
propably show him deficiency in knowledge or his error
in reasoning. It will instruct him in the best and most
lasting wa}r and teach him that whenever practice does
not go together with theory the latter must be wrong.
Electricity and magnetism have been the last of
the forces of Nature utilized by man for his wants.

The reasons are obviouf: The most precious things
for the existence of man Nature has abundantly supplied:
Few minutes without air would kill any mortal; Nature
supplies it to him in unlimited quantities at every place
without the least effort on his part. Few hours with-
out water would be quite uncomfortable for any one,
and Nature again supplies it very abundantly, though
he has some time to store it, or has to have some one
to bring it to him and pay for it.

He could not subsist without food many days, and
though he has to gather it,or cultivate it, still it is easily
obtained by him.

Heat is the next requirement and is sufficiently
stored in our atmosphere to keep him comfortably in
many parts of world and in the others shelter and fuel
can also be acquired without great difficulty.

Light is not of such vital importance, and for that
reason one half of man's life is kept in darkness.

Man is a most wonderful organism and yet as a test-
ing organism is most imperfect, As a dynamometer,

22

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL-

[Vol. I, No. i.

thermometer, phonometer he is poorly good. A photo-
graphic plate can register the impressions of more points
of light, say stars, with a simple lens, than man can per-
ceive with the Lick refractor. As an electrometer,
whether Ampere or Volt-meter, he is a dead failure.

From creation the paternal sun has been throwing
myriads of waves of electricity and magnetism and man
was innocent of the existence of eithef of these forces.
It took the genius of the great scientists of the beginning
of this century to know something of their nature and
make them manifest at their will. Not until half of the
century had elapsed, was it found that they were correl-
atives of heat and light. The century is closing and we
only now find out that the same laws of emission, rad-
iation, reflection, etc., that obtain in heat and light, apply
equally as well to electricty and magnetism.

Maxwell pointed out the propagation of the electro-
magnetic wave through ethereal space: Hertz has de-
monstrated by means of his oscilator and reasonator the
existence of such waves and has measured the time and
size of their oscillations, and together with Tesla, Thom-
son and others have demonstrated the other points of
resemblance to the laws of light.

It is in this direction and the thorough knowledge
of these facts and theories that will bring forth the great-
est number of inventions in Electro-magnetism. •

The main departments in which Electricity may be
used is as power to overcome gravity, energy to produce
heat and light, and as means to promote chemical re-
actions.

In the shape of evaporation and condensation of the
vapor of water and in the heating of the air, we have
now two valuable sources of power, viz.: water and wind
power. It is known that the potentiality of the atmo-
spheric electricity changes with the distance from the
earth's surface and with time. The earth itself is a great
magnet, with magneto-electric currents constantly flow-
ing from the equator to the poles. The deviation of
the needle and the glow of the aurora clearly show
it. Even supposing that its rotation in the ether pro-
duces no friction whatever, the great surface velocity
at the equator, which is more than 90,000 feet per
minute, would in presence of the magnetism of the
sun produce great earth currents. Now, do such cur-
rents store themselves, as light and heat do in vegeta-
tion and the coal measures, or, in some unaccounted
way, dissipate through space?

I will not touch the many unsolved problems of
light without heat, great heat without combustion, and
possibly without light, transmission without metallic
conductors, and seeing at a great distance by electrical
means. I will come back to the point of beginning —
how the opportunities of a young engineer may be im-
proved.

First, by his being prepared to meet the new and in-
creasing demauds of electrical application. In the com-
ing wedding of electricity to all the other branches of
industries, are the civil and mechanical engineers to ac-
quaint themselves with electrical knowledge to build and
operate the future electrical railroads ? Is the metallur-
gist to become an electrician or the latter a metallurgist?
Is the chemist to study the properties and effects of
the electric current, or the electrician the reactions that
follow the combination of the elements of matter in cer-
tain proportions and in certain ways?

Electricity is the younger science, is the growing
one ; it should be enterprising and dispute the field of
operations wherever there is an opportunity.

The electrical engineer should now take a stand for
his rights, should unite his individual efforts to those of
his colleagues and be willing, even if he be at the top of

his profession, to stand in with his brother engineers.
They all together should teach to the trust, to the cor-
poration and to the citizen, that it is equally as absurd
to devise plants for manufacture and stations and to run
them without competent and well-remunerated engin-
eers, as it is to build roads without surveys or build
houses without architects ; that it is equally as absurd
to leave the wiring of houses to the contractor as it
would the plumbing to the plumber. That it pays to
investigate whether or not the cheaper is the best, and
that money spent in paying well the conscientious en-
gineer is the best of all economy.

J^istoTical.

THE COLUMBIA'S PLANT DISMANTLED.

After the present month the interest which the vet-
erans of incandescent electric lighting have always felt
in the Oregon Eail way and Navigation Company's steam-
ship Columbia, will fade, for that vessel is now on the
drj'-dock at the Union Iron Works, in San Francisco, be-
ing entirely reconstructed and its venerable electric light-
ing plant, which was not only the first ever placed on
any vessel in the world, but was also the first plant in-
stalled for commercial purposes and placed in the hands
of outside parties for operation \>j the original Edison
Electric Light Company, has been torn out and will be
replaced by modern apparatus. The history of this
most interesting installation has been described hereto-
fore,* but now that the equipment has ceased its practi-
cal usefulness it is meet that the event should be re-
corded.

The credit for conceiving the installation of incan-
descent lamps on shipboard appears to be due to Mr.
Henry Villard, then President of the O. B. & N. Co. and
the Northern Pacific Bailway Co., a Director in the Ed-
ison Electric Light Co. and an intimate friend of Mr.
Edison. This was in 1879, when the Columbia was be-
ing built at the Cramps' Shipyard, in Chester, Pa., and
orders were given that the vessel should be equipped
with incandescent lights. At the suggestion of Mr. Edi-
son Mr. J. C. Henderson, then advising engineer of the
0. E. & N. Co. and now prominent on the engineering-
staff of the General Electric Company, was placed in
charge of the installation, and that he did his work
well, even though in a manner that now bespeaks the
crudity of the state of the art of incandescent installa-
tion at that time, is evinced in the fact that the plant
has a record of service for a period of nearly a quarter
of a million hours with no repairs to the machines, it is
said, except the rewinding of one field coil, and a few
minor repairs to the bearings, etc. So far as can be as-
certained the Columbia never lost an armature, and the
commutators have received only such attention and re-
newals as has been necessary from normal and proper-
usage.

The Columbia's plant consisted of four Edison long
field core dynamos of the original type now known as
the " Z " pattern. The capacity of each of these ma-
chines was 60 16-c. p. lamps, but as only three of them
were used for lighting service, the tnird being utilized as
an exciter for the remaining three, the total output of
the plant was 180 lights. The vessel was wired for 115
lamps, placed in the cabins and staterooms, but regard-
less of this fact when the vessel was at sea the four dy-

* Electrical Engineer (N. Y.), Vol. XV, No. 252, March 1, 1894."

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL

23

namos were operated continuously from dark until 10:30
o'clock each night during the fifteen years the plant has
been in operation. The plant was installed in the early
part of 1880, and on the 2d of May in that year the dy-
namos were first started.

In the light of present practices and beliefs it seems
impossible that the- wiring of this pioneer equipment
should have been in use for fifteen years on shipboard
exposed to dampness and other possibilities of injury

Relics of the First Marine Incandescent Installation.

without having caused serious trouble, but despite this
the No. 11 cotton-covered paraffined wire, which was
used for the mains, and the No. 32 cotton-covered par-
affined magnet wires used for the branches, all being
stapled to the wood work and painted over, remained in
serviceable condition to the last. It is stated, however,
that originally the plant was installed without fusible
cutouts, and that the necessity for cutting off the cur-
rent by some means upon the occurrence of any abnor-
mal condition in the circuit such as would be occasioned
by short circuit, leakage, etc., was impressed by earlier
experiences with this plant, and that before leaving for
her trip around Gape Horn, the Columbia's lighting
plant was provided with safety fuses in the mains near
the dynamos and in each lamp socket or at each lamp.
All mains and lamp circuits were bunched together, and
the main bus wires from the dynamos to the switch-
board, or more properly speaking, to the fuseboard, were
of bare copper wire stranded and inclosed in a soft rub-
ber tubing, each bus having a strand for each circuit
controlled from the fuseboard. The dynamos were
driven from a countershaft driven in turn by a pair of
high-pressure vertical engines. The countershaft, which
was directly over the dynamos, was run along the aft-
ward wall of the main engine-room, and the arrange-
ment of belting between the engines and the dynamos
through the countershaft was at a very high angle, in
order to economize freight space. A further peculiarity
rested in the fact that the armature of the exciter was
driven at half the speed of the armature of the lighting
machines.

The difficulties attending the first installation of incan-
descent lighting could be made very clear by an ex-
amination of the Columbia's plant. The first lot of
lamps installed were of the paper carbon variety, which
were so delicate that it was soon found that the jar of the
ship's engines broke the filaments at an alarming rate, to
overcome which, the lamps were fitted into small turned
wood bases and suspended by strips of felt ribbon.
Later wood receptacles were used that were placed flat
against the surfaces of the ceilings but seperated there-
from by light thick felting to minimize the jar. The
sockets wherever used were of complicated type mounted
entirely in wood, but the staterooms were lighted by
means of lamps mounted on receptacles or the small
wood bases described and completely enclosed in ground
glass globes so as to be beyond the reach of passengers.
These lights could be controlled only by a wooden switch
located outside of the stateroom and turned on and off by
a key in the hands of the steward. It was necessary,
therefore, to ring a call bell and await the response of a
steward before the lamp could be lighted or extinguished,
and often then it would be necessary to resort to the use
of the oil lamp, because of the fact that the regulation of
dynamos was such that they could not control the poten-
tial under material changes in load. Parts of the light-
ing apparatus here described are shown in the accom-
panying illustration.

The incandescent electric lighting plant on the Colum-
bia proved a source of wonderment, not only on the
Pacific Coast, but at every port at which the vessel
stopped 01a her voyage around the Horn. Through Mr.
Villard's association with Mr. Edison's and the O. R. &
N. Co.'s interests, it was arranged that the vessel should
stop at every principal port and give exhibitions of the
apparatus. The engineers of the Columbia who have
been with the vessel from the time it was built, state
that the lamps of the paper carbon variety did not out-
last much of the trip to the Pacific Coast, and that the
replacing of burned out lamps became monotinously
frequent. Upon arriving on the Coast, however, a new
lot of lamps was received from the East, in which bam-
boo filaments were used ; these gave much better satis-
faction and many of them, it is stated, have a record of
5000 houi-s, while some have burned 9000 hours, and a
very few lamps that were seldom used were still
connected on the circuits when the plant was dis-
mantled.

In addition to the incandescent plant, the Columbia
was provided with a 2000 c. p. power search light oper-
ated by a small Siemens' vertical type dynamo with von
Hefner Alteneck drum armature. The vessel, when
refitted, will be provided with a 400-light Siemens'-
Halske generator, direct connected to a triple expansion
marine type Union Iron Works engine.

THE HEART AS A PUMPING ENGINE.

Poets and philosophers are fond of marveling at the wonders
of the human heart, but they usually confine themselves to homi-
lies on its ceaseless activity, and some of the things that are
most wonderful of all escape their attention entirely. One of the
most remarkable things about the heart is the amount of work it
does. Considering the organ as a pump, the task of which is
to deliver a known quantity of blood against a known "head,"
it is easy to show that in twenty-four hours a man's heart does
about 124 foot-tons of work. " In other words," says a contem-
porary, " if the whole force expended by the heart in twenty -four
hours were gathered into one huge stroke, such a power would lift
124 tons one foot from the ground. A similar calculation has
been made respecting the amount of work expended by the mus-
cles involved in breathing. In twenty-four hours these muscles
do about 21 foot-tons of work.

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i.

Recent Installations.

ELECTRICITY ON THE CRUISER OLYMPIA.

By W. W. Hanscom, M. E., E. E.

The electrical equipment of the new United States
cruiser " Olympia" recently finished by the Union Iron
Works of San Francisco, represents a very complete
and modern marine plant in every way, and the extent
to which electricitjr enters into the handling of vessels of
the new navy could not be more fully expressed than by
giving a description of the installation and its various
functions. To facilitate description therefore, the various
parts of the plant are considered under the following
sections:

The Generating Sets, consisting of combined engine
and dynamo, directly connected and mounted on a sin-
gle bed plate as shown in the accompanying illustration,

continuous hours heat 49° F. above the surrounding
atmosphere. The commutators are large in diameter
and present a large bearing surface for the brushes and
are cross connected at 90° requiring but one set of
negativesand positive brushes.

One of the most interesting features of the installa-
tion is the switchboard, which is of slate and designed
for eighteen circuits operated by four dynamos. The
bus bars and switches are arranged to permit either
dynamo to be used separately on arc, incandescent or
motor circuits, or for all dynamos to be operated in
parallel on all circuits also in parallel. Instrument
boards, placed on each side of the main switchboard
carry independent Weston voltmeters and amperemeters
for each dynamo and search light and also the ground
detector. A valuable feature of the switches is the fact
that the switch blades are removable when not in use,
which reduces the possibili ty of careless switching.

The wiring is installed under the two wire system,
each pair of conductors being carried in wooden mould-

Electricity on the Cruiser Olympia.

are four in number, each having an output of sixteen
kilowatts'and forming at once a complete and indepen-
dent set.

The Engines are of the Union Iron Works stand-
ard, compound condensing inverted cylinder vertical
type developing at four hundred revolutions, twenty-six
indicated horse power. An auotmatic governor of the
Ide type controls the admission of steam into the high
pressure cylinder by acting directly on its valve and so
perfect is its action that the variation in speed from no
load to full load and reverse is only three revolutions
or f of 1 per cent.

General Electric Compound Wound direct current
four pole marine type generators of eighty volts and
two hundred amperes are used each machine being di-
rectly connected to its engine. The windings are so
proportioned that the voltage varies but \\ volts from
the normal between no load and full load. The arma-
tures are gramme rings with windings of ample capacity
to carry an over load of 50 per cent to 75 per cent with-
out injury and when operated under full load for four

ing with all joints iu mains and for branches made in
water tight bronze junction boxes; the wires entering
through packing or stuffing tubes made tight by soft
rubber glands. Where led through bulkheads, the wires
pass through water tight stuffing tubes made so in the
same manner. The circuits are divided into lighting
and battle mains, the former for general illumination
and the latter for use in time of action. No single wire
larger than 16 B. W. G. is used, larger sizes being
stranded to give the required area. The insulation of
the wires is as follows: 1st A layer of pure Para rubber
2nd A layer of vulcanized rubber containing about 50
percent sulphur and lastly a layer of woven or braided
cotton, saturated with a flame and moisture-proof com-
pound. The average resistance of each outlet to ground
including wires, junction boxes and switches and
dynamos, after a year's installation and use was sixty
million ohms.

The fixtures are all designed with special reference
to their respective uses and are finished in dark bronze
or oxidized silver according to location. Ceiling rings,

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL,

25

steam tight globes, desk lights and bulkhead fixtures for
officers' aud crew's quarters, living spaces, engine rooms,
passages, etc. together with coal bunker lights, mag-
azine lanterns and brackets, besides water tight switches
aud receptacles and plain receptacles, are designed with
a view to continuous service.

Motors are used for ventlation and ammunition
hoisting, the ventilating motors, three in number being
arranged as follows: One. a 2 h. p, motor is located in
the dynamo room and keeps it supplied with cool air
drawn from above the decks. The other two of | horse
power each, are portables, being arranged to be carried
about and used for ventilating coal bunkers, double bot-
toms, etc. Each motor is fastened to the side of and
directly connected to the fan of its respective blower.
Three eight horse power shunt wound water proof
motors are located in the passing rooms and used for
hoisting ammunition to the gun deck for the 5-iuch broad-
side guns, while two five horse power series wound
motors with reversing rheostats are located in the turrets
and keep the eight inch guns supplied with ammunition

The signaling equipment known as the Electric
Night Sigualiug apparatus consists of a series of double
lanterns, the upper halves red and the lower halves
white, fastened one above the other on a stay of the
main mast; a 32 c. p. lamp in each half is connected to
a key board located on the after bridge. Numerous
combinations can be made by revolving a handle over an
index plate on top of the staud. A truck light, similar
in design to the signal lantern is located on top of each
mast and connected to aud operated by switches on the
forward bridge.

Four Mangin projectors, 30 inches in diameter, are
located on the fore and main tops aod on the broadsides.
These lamps require one hundred amperes each at
forty-five to forty-eigh't volts, the reduction from eighty
at the dynamos being accomplished by means of a dead
resistance in series with the lamps. Each projector is
furnished with two lenses, the inner one forming a
hinged door in front of the projector, and the outer one,
operated from the back, slides in front of the inner one
changing the rays from a parallel beam of great intensity
to a diverged or fan-shaped one of more area but less
intensity. The lamps, which are arranged for either
hand or automatic feed, are so proportioned as to keep
the arc always in the focus of the mirror in back. A
damper allows of shuttiug off of the light from the mir-
ror, thus permitting intermittent flashes of light to be
used for signaling. The two broadside projectors are,
by means of motors and gearing in their bases, controlled
electrically by a controlling device in a further part of
the ship and can be revolved, elevated or depressed at
will. The candle power of the beam is rated at 100,000.

The alarm system consists of hinged floats containing
mercurial contacts, located in each water tight compart-
ment and so arranged as to close a circuit when water
has found its way to and capjized them. The closing of
the circuit operates an annunciator on the main deck,
notifying the officers of the location of the trouble.
Thermostats in each coal bunker are arranged to give
a similiar alarm upon the temerature in any of them
rising above 200° F. Electro-mechanical gongs located
in numerous parts of the ship and operated by contact-
makers similar to a fire alarm box, are used for calling
the crew to' quarters in case of fire or other reasons.

Interior communication is effected through the use of
the push button and annunciator systems and telephones.
Calls can be made from one-hundred seventy different
points all over the ship and the telephones offer a ready
means of communication between the Captain and Chart
House, and the turrets and passing rooms and central

station. The transmitters are regular granular Hun-
nings type and are connected in series with the battery,
the receivers being used without induction coils. An '
idea of the completeness of the various systems of in-
terior communication may be had from the fact that it
required over 70,000 feet of insulated copper wire or
nearly 13^ miles, to make the wiring connections.

A SEATTLE ELECTRIC STATION BURNED.

The electric power station and car barn of the
Seattle (Wash.) Cousolidated Street Railway Company
was destroyed by fire early on the morning of June
20th, causing a loss, roughly estimated, at $100,000.
The building was a substantial brick structure, 60 feet
by 260 feet in area, occupying the entire side of the
block on the north side of Pine street, between Fifth
and Sixth streets, and was so constructed on a hillside
that the main floor, constituting the car house and re-
pair shop, was on a level with Fifth street, while the
basement floor, on which was located the boiler and

engine and dynamo room, was on a level with Sixth
street. The photograph from which the accompanying
half-tone was made shows the northwest corner of the
building, containing the boiler room on the lower floor
and the repair shop on the upper floor.

The plant equipment consisted of the necessary
boilers and two Corliss engines, each rated at 225 horse-
power, either or both of which operated a counter-shaft,
driving the six Thomson-Houston type D62 railway
generators which the station contained. The building
is reported to be completely gutted and in addition to
the building and plant the company lost twenty-five cars
that were in the building at the time of the fire. An
insurance of $40,000 was carried.

The building represented in the foreground of the
illustration is the burned station of the ;i Seattle Consoli-
dated," while that in the background is the lighting
station of the Home Electric Company, now consoli-
dated with the Union Electric Company of Seattle.

ELECTRICAL INSPECTION IS NO MORE.

Every employee of the Board of Fire Underwriters
of the Pacific except one — Mr. E. F. Mohrhardt, Sec-
retary of the board, has received his demit to take effect
June 30th, and only the barren organization will here-
after remain until such time as it may be deemed advis-
able to adjourn sine die, or to reorganize.

Underwriters' electrical inspection in the nine
States and Territories of the Pacific Coast is, therefore,
a thing of the past, but it is being carried on in San
Francisco through the Underwriters' Inspection Bureau.

26

THE BLECTRICIAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i.

Qlec-bro'fnsurance .

LIGHTING FROM TROLLEY CIRCUITS.

ELECTRO-CHLORINATION.

The Underwriters' Electrical Bureau of Chicago,
acting for the Underwriters' National Electric Associa-
tion, has just issued Electrical Fire Hazard Pamphlet
No. 3, discussing the hazards of operating lamps and
motors by current supplied from electric railways using
the grounded trolley system and which is supplemented
by letters from many of the principal independent elec-
trical engineers of the country substantiating Rule 41 of
the National Code, which reads:

Lighting and Power fkom Railway Wires. — Must not be
permitted, under any pretense, in the same circuit with trolley
wires with a ground return .

The pamphlet points out that this rule was framed
by the Electrical Committee of the Underwriters' Na-
tional Electric Association, and represents the unanimous
opinion of the electrical inspectors of the United States, and that
its enforcement is necessary for the general good as is
demonstrated by the numerous fires that have occurred
because of its violation, as shown in the various elec-
trical fire reports issued by the Bureau.

The reasons why this system of electrical distribu-
tion is far inferior and more hazardous than systems
ordinarily used are stated as follows : One side of the
circuit is normally grounded, which means that but one
accidental electrical connection between any part of the
wiring and a conducting substance of any nature in
electrical connection with the earth, is necessary in order
to establish current flow and a resulting " burn out" or
fire.

In a complete metallic circuit, two such connections
are necessary before current flow can be established, and,
therefore, the grounded system is considerably more than
twice as hazardous as the metallic. The wires of a trolley
road being run overhead are susceptible to lightning dis-
charges, and a line being run into a building to a motor
and then into the earth, affords an easy, convenient and
oftentimes preferable path for the discharge to travel,
setting fire to the property on the way. The voltage or
': pressure " used on trolley systems is sufficiently high
(500 volts) to be classed as a " high potential " under
the rules, and the energy used on the circuit is sufficient
to necessitate the generation of current quantities fre-
quently great enough to produce very severe heating
effects, thus entailing the disadvantages of the series arc
system in the comparatively high voltage used, coupled
with the. disadvantage Of the low potential system, which
uses large currents, and this results in bringing about
enormous heating effects at the point where the break
occurs. This is a very hard form of energy to properly
control even under favorable circumstances and when
traveling over the uncertain path offered by a grounded
trolley system, it cannot be considered desirable or safe
for introduction inside of buildings. Lightning arresters,
extra insulated wire run on large size glass insulators,
special fuses, double mounting of the motor, grounding
outside the building, a sign reading " danger," a voltage
reducer and numberless other proposed safeguards, are
advantageous, and each does its little to decrease the
probability of trouble, but they cannot make a grounded
circuit the equivalent of a metallic circuit from any point
of view.

The electrical engineers who contribute letters con-
demning the practice in question are Messrs. Pierce &
Richardson, J. P. Barrett, Wm. A. Anthony, Stone &
Webster, W. M. Stine, Wm. L. Puffer, E. P. Roberts and
L. K. Comstock.

A new process for the extraction of gold at a very
small expense is soon to be started at the Gold & Globe
Mill of the Cripple Creek (Colo.) Gold Milling Company.
The method to be used is known as the "Electro-Chlori-
nation Process," and although certain parts of it are
held secret, it is known that the idea is based on the
passing of a heavy current at low potential through
crushed ore immersed in a solution of sodium chloride.
The sodium and chlorine are separated under the action
of the current, the chlorine uniting with the gold, form-
ing a chloride of gold which is deposited on a sheet of
lead or other suitable cathode.

The deposition vat will consist of a large tank, the
bottom of which is to be lined with blocks of carbon to
a thickness of about three inches. Above these carbon
blocks, which form anodes, will be spread the ore
crushed to about a sixty mesh, upon which is poured
the solution of sodium chloride, and on the surface of
the liquid is supported the cathode. The dynamo used
will have an output of 6,000 amperes at 20 volts, and it
is claimed that on ton lot experiments, 94 per cent, ex-
tractions have been made in 45 minutes. The secret
part of the process consists in the use of an ingredient
which, when added to the sodium chloride solution pre-
vents the liberated sodium from re-uniting with the
chlorine

All experiments have hitherto been carried on in
Philadelphia, and having proven successful, a full
equipment has been manufactured and the machinery is
now in process of erection at Cripple Creek.

THE CHICAGO RAIL BOND.

The consolidation of practically all of the street
railway interests of San Francisco and the conclusion of
the Market Street Railway Company thus formed to
equip all lines so far as practicable with electric traction
naturally led to the organization of an electro-technical
department in the charge of men of undoubted experi-
ence and ability in electric railway construction. Of all
the apparently " little " details of equipment that have
come under the consideration of this department none
have been given greater care and attention than that
bestowed upon the all-important matter of rail-bonding.

Fig. 1. — The Chicago Rail Bond.

In the earlier construction of electric railways the engi-
neer made all his estimates and calculations with the
utmost accuracy and scientific precision for the overhead
half of the circuit, and spared neither money, time, labor
nor copper to bring that half up to the highest standard
of perfection ; but the practical results which he aimed
to attain, namely, a low percentage of loss or drop upon
the line, and economical consumption of coal at the
power house was seldom, if ever, realized, because he
neglected to complete the metallic circuit by properly
bonding the rails together at the joints. The energy
losses occurring through defective bonding soon were
realized to form an abnormally high factor in the total

July, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

2/

losses in the operation of electric railways, to obviate
which has been the study of the ablest electric railway
engineers.

After mature consideration of all systems of rail-
bondiDg yet devised, the Market Street hailway Com-
pany adopted the form shown diagramatically in the
accompanying sketches and which is known as the
" Chicago " rail bond. In this the rail bond proper, C,
is a copper rod or wire having tubular or thimble-shaped
terminals which are bent at right angles to the bond,
and with its two tubular terminals is composed of one
solid piece of rolled copper. The tubular or thimble-
shaped terminals, A, are inserted into holes through the
web of the rail, a, and the slitted end of the terminal, A.
is spread or clinched over on the rail with a hammer and

&£

71 B C

Fig. 2. — Chicago Rail Bond.

punch ; this holds it from drawing back out of the hole.
The drift pin, B, which is larger than the opening in the
tubular or thimble-shaped terminal, A, is then driven
into said terminal, thus expanding it and wedging it into
solid contact with the surface of said hole through the
web of the rail, «, making an absolutely solid joint from
which every particle of air and moisture is excluded and
which experience has thus far shown to be proof against
corrosion or electrolysis. The " Chicago " rail bond has
therefore been adopted as standard by the Market Street
Railway Company and is used exclusively in its lines in
San Francisco.

SCIENTIFICALLY CUT LAMP GLOBES.

An invention that undoubtedly will be developed into
great utility aud that among many other applications,
would seem to hasten the adoption of small arc lamps
for interior or even desk use, is decribed in the London
Journal in an article on " Holophane Globes," which is
the name applied to glas-s globes that are cut on scientific
principles for the proper dissemination of light. It is
stated that holophane globes, when inclosing any light
of high caudle power, such as the Welsbach incandescent
gas,. or the electric lamp, give the appearance of a vase
filled with light, brilliant, yet soft while the actual
burner or filament cannot be discerned.

The principle of the holophane globe is readily ex-
plained. The interior surface of the globe is formed into
vertical grooves, which are so shaped as to spread out
horizontally the rays proceeding from every part of the
light source. The mouldings on the outer surface of the
globe are horizontal, and have the effect of distributing
the emergent rays in the vertical sense; and inasmuch as
the light may be required in some instances to be cast
downward and in others to be equally dispersed, the
angles of the outside grooves are modified accordingly.
This is a very different thing from the unscientific cutting
seen in ornamental cut glass globes which do nothing
for the diffusion of the light.

As for the loss entailed by the reflection and refrac-
tion of holophane globes, it is certified by M. de Nash-
ville to amount in the case of an arc light to from nine
to thirteen per cent and as this observer remarks, there
is no other kind of globe in existence capable of realizing
such diffusion of light aud presenting such uniformity
of effect. As the loss of light by transmission through
clear glass is from eight to ten per cent, the claim that
holophone globes do their special work for about four
per cent of loss, is well established.

It is pointed out in the Eugineering Magazine that
the invention of these globes may come in with acetylene
lighting now in its very beginnings.

THE LdY FRE55.

POPULAR REFLECTIONS OF THE CONDITION AND

PROSPECTS OF ELECTRICAL EMOINEERING

ON THE PACIFIC COAST.

A new kind of "hustler" has arisen, and within the past
three or four months he has been rapidly multiplying and filling
the earth. He is the promoter of new electrical enterprises, and
especially the promoter of schemes for the long-distance trans-
mission of electric power. The air of the whole Pacific Coast
has all at once become filled with talk about setting up water
wheels in lonely mountain places and making them give light
and cheaply turn other wheels in towns miles away. From
Shasta to San Diego men are organizing, or trying to organize,
local or San Francisco companies to utilize in this way the water
power in particular localities. A few of these power-transmission
enterprises have been successfully organized by business men of
capital and the work of establishing them has been actually be-
gun. The rest are yet in the air, and many of them will remain
there for a long time.

But the interesting fact is that the State is full of "inquiry "
in this direction, and consulting electrical engineers and agents
of manufacturers are kept busy answering questions in person
and by lettei and making preliminary estimates of cost. Their
business field is now very active and competition is keen and in-
creasing. Big and little companies have agents here who are af-
ter every rumor of a new railway, light, power or other plant,
and they keep to themselves every pointer they get to avoid send-
ing a lot of competitors after their customers. Local manufact-
uring establishments are rapidly going into the manufacture of
electrical machinery.

While the actual business done is mainly with new railway
and lighting plants and new buildings, the activity over power
transmission is the most interesting, if not the most important
thing to the general public. The transmission of electric power
has just entered upon its second stage. For years it has remained
in the stage of theory and experiment.

Great public interest has always been taken in the prophesies
of electrical engineers that the vast amount of power running
waste in hills and mountains everywhere would be cheaply util-
ized by transforming it into electrical energy and taking it long
distances to where it would be practicable to use it. In this State
it has long been a popular and somewhat inspiring idea that the
power in the streams and reservoirs of the bierras would light
the towns of the valleys and foothills, and so cheapen power in
them that industries would be stimulated. The success of the
experiments at Portland, Kedlands, the Bodie mines and a few
other places, where from twelve to twenty-five miles have been
covered, has warranted the various new enterprises which con-
template providing power and light to towns in the Sacramento
and San Joaquin valleys and in the foothills. So they have sud-
denly sprung up in numbers and the stage of practical business
has just been fairly entered.

Sacramento is to be the first town to get river power from a.
distance on a large scale. The big plant near Folsoni is to be
read v for operation in four or five weeks, and then 5,000 horse-
power will be kept pumping into Sacramento over twenty miles
away to run the trolley lines and give light and power. The new
company is invading the field of the gas company in the light
business, and lively competition is promised.

The South Yuba Water Company is getting ready to do big
and interesting things in Placer County. It controls an immense
water system in Placer and Nevada counties, and has practically
unlimited power at its command, and it can be utilized cheaply
at high heads The company expects to have in operation by
August 1st a plant that will light Newcastle, Penryn and Loomis.
It will begin with 150 horse-power and $25,000 plant, with water
used at 460 feet pressure. The company is said to plan invading
Sacramento, twenty-two miles from Rocklin, with light and

28

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i.

power, and a scheme to operate an electric road from Marysville
to Newcastle, along the foothills, is being much talked about.

Another enterprise that has passed the stage of talk is one to
supply power to the big groups of mines about the region of Grass
\ alley and Nevada City. This company, which is composed of
miners, proposes to sell power to mines for miles around at $75
per horse-power per year. Heretofore the power used at the
mines has been mainly water power, sold by water companies at
from $125 to $150 per horse-power.

It is in the mining regions that the use of electric power will
naturally be most rapidly developed, and many mining compa-
nies are "now figuring on'establishing plants for their individual
use.

One of the most interesting schemes that have been
launched is that of the San Joaquin Power Company, which
is perfecting plans to bring light and power into Fresno from one
of the forks of the >an Joaquin River, forty-three miles northeast
of Fresno. This company is composed of Fresno capitalists. A
San Francisco company has arranged to supply electricity to Ba-
kersfield from a plant in Kern River Canyon, several miles from
the city.

These are the only new enterprises in this line which are re-
garded as having passed the stage of talk. Several are in the air
of Southern California, and a half-dozen schemes to electrify
Stockton from the Sierras have come to the front since the rail-
road-boom began. — San Francisco Call, June 1, 1895.

The widespread interest that is being taken in plans for the
electric transmission of power gives promise that the great need
of Calif ornian manufacture is likely to be met within a few years.
Capitalists and promoters are actively inquiring into the cost of
plants, and the water powers are being grabbed or bought up as
rapidly as they Can be found. The great need of Californian man-
ufacturers is cheap power. With the nearest abundant supplj'
of coal 600 miles away and with much of the fuel shipped from
Kngland and Australia, it is impossible to compete in those
lines of manufacture in which power is one of the largest parts
of the cost.

But California has abundance of water power within her bor-
ders. The rivers and streams that take their rise in the Sierra
Nevadas could furnish energy enough to run all the engines in
the United States if only it could be harnessed and brought where
it can be used. There is now no difficulty in harnessing the
power of mountain streams, as electric transmission has reached
a stage of progress in which power can be carried many miles
with slight loss. The time is not far in the future, if it has not
already come, when San Francisco will have the benefit of the
power that has been going to waste in the mountains. The en-
ergy cannot be brought from the Sierras yet, on a commercial
basis at least, but there is good authority for the statement that
thousands of horse-power may be brought from Clear Lake and
delivered to San Francisco manufacturers at a rate that will
drive steam and coal from most of our industries.

The day is undoubtedly coming when the Sierra water pow-
ers can be brought to San Francisco, and when that day comes
the city will have an unlimited supply of energy at its command.
The rapid slopes of the streams that make a descent of three or
four thousand feet in a short distance offer a chance to use the
same water over and over. The capitalists have awakened to the
opportunity. California should lead, rather than follow, in elec-
trical transmission of power. There is both the supply of power
and the absence of competition from the fuel supplies that worry
the electrical companies elsewhere. — San Francisco Examiner.
June 3, 1895.

A dispatch from Fresno says that the owners of the new wa-
ter and electric plant being put in on the San Joaquin River have
offered to furnish power for machine shops of the Valley Railroad,
if built in Fresno, at one-half the cost of steam power.

It seems to be an irresistible conclusion that the greater part
of the power which can be made available for industrial purposes
in California must come directly from the forces of nature. \\ e
have no cheap coal in California, 'or, at least, none has been
found as yet, unless we except the Livermore lignite, which has
not been fully developed, and imported coal for manufacturing
purposes is almost an impossibility, not on account of the forty
cents a ton duty, but because of the cost of transportation. But
in the mountains of California, from one end of the State to the
other, there are rivers, streams and creeks which may be made a
source of supply for power almost infinite. To convert the dy-
namic force of running water into electrical energy is one of the
simplest of modern scientific problems, and the only practical
difficulty is the economical transmission of the electric force over
long distances. — San Francisco Chronicle, May 17, 1S95.

The scheme for transmitting powder from the north fork of
the San Joaquin River to Fresno has been in contemplation,
in one form or another, for a long time, but the work went
forward so quietly that the public did not learn that any act-

ual steps had been taken until operations had begun. Work
has now been going on for some weeks on the canal by which
water will be led from the north fork to the reservoir, a dis-
tance of six miles, following the line of canal.
It is not too much to say that a new era has dawned for
Fresno and the surrounding country. The drawback heretofore
has been that fuel was so expensive that manufacturing was at a
disadvantage, especially where much power was used. This is
now to be reversed. Power will be cheap, permanent and conve-
nient, and coal will be known in Fresno no more, except, per-
haps, in a few cases where electricity cannot be made to answer
the purpose, which will mark the dawn of a day such as the .San
Joaquin Vallev has never seen. — Fresno (Cal.) Republican, May
12, 1895.

JfetOs of the Jffonth.

TELEPHONE AHb TELEQKrtPH.

Riverside, Cal. — H. H. Streeter has been granted a tele-
phone franchise.

Napa, Cal. — L. Grothwell, of San Francisco, has applied for
a franchise for the erection of telephone and telegraph lines from
Napa to Calistoga.

Great Falls, Mont. — Rapid progress is being made in the
construction of the new telephone line from Great Falls to Lew-
istown, a distance of fifty-three miles.

Sacramento, Cal. — The Board of Supervisors have posted
notice of sale on June 24th of a franchise for the construction,
operation and maintenance of a telephone and telegraph system
in Sacramento County. Evidences of having secured at least 400
bona fide telephone subscribers must be presented.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Portland, Or — A school for electricity has been established
under the direction of Professor Loverage.

Sacramento, Cal — The Electro-Chemical Amalgamating Co.
has been incorporated. Calvin Brown is one of the Directors.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The Dheuy Oil Company does its oil
pumping by electricity, using the Commercial Electric Compa-
ny's motors.

Sprague, Wash. — Lightning entered the station of the Sprague
Electric Light Works on May 18th, doing damage that necessi-
tated a week's shut down.

Oregon City, Or. — F. E. Ball of the Electrical Reduction
Works has gone to Southern Oregon to exploit his electrical
method of reducing refractory ores. His assistant, E. F. Ken-
nedy, accompanies him.

San Jose, Cal. — The Electrical Improvement Company has
paid Giovanni Giraudi $2,000 as judgment and $774 as interest
and costs for the loss of his right hand by an injury received from
contact with an electric light wire on the roof of a house at night
in a storm.

La Center, Wash. — A Clark County lumberman has erected a
plant consisting of an electric motor driving a drag saw. With
this equipment it requires but three minutes for the saw to cut
through a five foot log, and the saw cuts on an average 100 cords
of wood a day.

San Francisco, Cal — Neil Cameron, a lineman of the Fire
Alarm system, has brought suit against the W. U. T. Co. and the
city to recover $20,000 damages for personal injuries, alleged to
have been caused by the falling of a telegraph pole upon which
he was working.

Sax Francisco. — The Municipal Signal Company, of Boston,
has served notice on the Board of Supervisors that the citv will
be held responsible for its use of the police signal system in ser-
vice, alleged to be an infringement of patents owned by the
company named.

Berkeley, Cal. — Suit has been entered by C. W. McLaugh-
lin against the Western Union Telegraph Company for damages
in the sum of $5,250, for failure to deliver a message owing to a
mistake made by an employee in making the name " Dietz " ap-
pear as " Dieth."

Tacoma, Wash. — Electricians Bochelet and Fraser have
entered into a contract with the Northern Pacific R«ilway Com-
pany to recover a safe that was lost in the bay during a recent
landslide and which cannot be found. The electricians propose
to locate the safe by electro-magnetic means.

Portland, Or. — The General Electric Company has brought
suit against the receiver of the Oregon Railway and Navigation
Company to recover damages in the sum of $63,916.43 for the loss

July, I895.J

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

29

of electrical machinery by tire on September 23d last, such ma-
chinery being consigned to the Portland General Electric Com-
pany.

San Francisco. — Suit has been entered by C. C Terrill and
the German Savings and Loan Society against Fabian and Mar-
garetha Joost, to foreclose two mortgages aggregating $141,000,
which sum represents money borrowed to assist the San Fran-
cisco and San Mateo Electric Railway out of its financial difficul-
ties some time ago.

TRANSMISSION.

Pow

Perkis, Cal. — It is possible that the San Antonio Light and

;er Company will extend its 10,000-volt circuit to this city.

Visai.ia, Cal. — Satisfactory progress is being made in the ne-
gotiations for the transmission of electric power from the Kaweah
River to this city.

Phoenix, Ariz. — The great Walnut Grove dam may be re-
built, and if so an electric power plant of considerable magnitude
will be installed.

San Diego, Cal. — An electrical engineer is figuring on a plant
to supply this city with electric power from a waterfall on the
flume line of the San Diego Flume Company.

Silyertox, Col. — The 150 h. p. general electric generator and
Pelton wheel installed in the Silver Lake mines last August by
E. G. Stoyber, has been supplemented by a duplicate equipment.

Sax Jose de Costa Rica, — Considerable electric work is be-
ing installed in this vicinity, one of the latest orders being for a
150 h. p. General Electric generator with Pelton wheels, for this
city.

Fall River Mills, Cal. — A company represented by a Mr.
Gale expects to put in an electric plant at the falls and irrigate
the plains between Fall City and Burgettville, an area of 15,000
acres.

• Salmon City, Idaho. — The Gold Dredging Company has in-
stalle 1 a 150 h. p. Pelton water wheel and a 100-kilowatt General
Electric generator. These are direct connected and used in gen-
eral mining work.

Spokane, Wash. — A warranty deed has been filed conveying
from the Spokane Falls Water Power Company to the Northwest
Milling and Power Company all its title to the water power of
the Spokane Falls in consideration of $400,000.

Provo, TjTAn. — A large party of engineers and laborers, in
charge of F. J. Kramer, have commenced work on the Provo
power transmission plant in Provo Canyon. This enterprise is
under the financial management of L. L. Nunn, of Telluride.
Colorado.

San Jose, Cal. — Charles Franklin, of San Francisco, owner
of a valuable water right in the Sauta Cruz Mountains, twelve
miles from this city, is considering electrical transmission there-
from to San Jose. The stream is said to be capable (if generating
10,000 h. p.

Quezaltenaxgo, Guatemala. — The Pacifit- Mail steamship
Colima, recently wrecked off the west coast of Mexico, contained
a shipment of Pelton water wheels that were to have displaced
the turbines in use in the central station in this city. The order
has been duplicated.

Hidalgo, Mexico. — The Cia. Anonima de Transmission Elec-
trica de Potencia has installed a 2,000 h. p. mining transmission
plant, consisting of five 3-phase General Electric generators direct
coupled to Pelton water wheels running under an 800-foot head.
The transmission is of 10,500 volts.

Salt Lake City, Utah. — Indications point to a very spirited
rivalry between the two Big Cottonwood enterprises. Each ex-
pects to place 3,000 h. p. of electric power upon the Salt Lake City
market before the year is ended. These companies are the Utah
Power Company and the Big Cottonwood Power Company.

TRdNSPOKTdTION.

Napa, Cal. — A company is being organized for building an
electric road to Calistoga.

Ontario, Cal. — The power house for the new ntario street
railway is about completed.

Redlands, Cal. — An electric railway to Hemet via Moreno
and San Jacinto is being considered.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Board of Supeivisors is consider-
ing plans and models of car guards or fenders.

Visalia, Cal. — The talk of building an electric road from
Merced into the Yosemite Valley is being revived.

Petaluma, Cal. — The construction of an electric railroad be-
tween this city and Santa Rosa is believed to be a certainty.

Santa Maria, Cal. — Messrs. W. T. Lucas et al. have ap-
plied to the County Supervisors for an electric railway franchise.

Portland, Or. — The City and Suburban Railway Company
is operating a large trolley street-sprinkler with great satisfac-
tion.

Pasadena, Cal — The new line of the Pasadena and Los
Angeles Electric Railway Co. was formally opened for business
on May 6th.

San Rafael, Cal. — The newspapers favor the construction of
an electric road to run from San Rafael to Ross Valley and Point
San Pedro.

Napa, Cal. — It is stated that Eastern parties are about to
apply lor an electric railway franchise extending from Napa into
Lake County.

Haywards, Cal. — Messrs. Chisholm & Petermann have been
granted a franchise for an electric road from Haywards to Mount
Eden and Alvarado.

Sacramento, Cal. — The Central Electric Railway Company
is erecting a toboggan slide in East Park to cost $1,000. It will
be run by electricity.

Lompoc, Cal. — Dr. Lucas etal. has applied for a 50-year fran-
chise for an electric road to run from Wigington, through Santa
Maria to the ocean.

Berkeley, Cal. — The horse-car track on University avenue,
between East and West Berkeley, is being bonded, and cars have
been ordered preparatory to changing to an electric equipment.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The boilers and the foundations for the
engines and generators of the Los Angeles Traction Co. are
being erected and are expected to be in operation by the 1st
of July.

Pasadena, Cal. — Work is progressing steadily on the new
electric railway forming the extension of Professor Lowe's moun-
tain railway, and it is expected that the line will be completed to
Crystal Springs by July 1st.

Stockton, Cal. — H. T. Compton, Consulting Engineer of
the Lodi Electric Railway, states that the preliminary survey
has been finished from this city to Lodi. Plans will be ready for
the contractors in a few days.

Santa Cruz, Cal. — A colored porter employed about the car-
house disregarded warnings and " fooled " with the equipment
of a car which started the car on a run away up the street, smash-
ing the car and tearing out the side of a house.

Santa Rosa. Cal. — Leading business men are considering the
feasibility of connecting the valleys of Napa and Sonoma counties
with an electric belt railway, having its terminus at tidewater,
there to connect by fast ferry service with San Francisco.

San Francisco. — The Market-street Railway Company is im-
proving the Bryant-street power house by the addition of four
1,200 h. p. tripie expansion engines, and direct connected Sie-
mens-Halske generators with necessary boilers, etc. The engines
are *iOW being constructed by the Union Iron Works, and when
completed the plant will supply power for the operation of the
Mission, Folsom, Bryant, Sixteenth, Kentucky, Third and Kearny
streets systems.

Marysville, Cal. — Work has been commenced on the electric-
road to be built from Marysville eastward through the foothills
of Yuba and Madera counties and southeast to Auburn. It will
cover nearly fifty miles of track, and when complete it will be
the longest line of electric road west of Chicago. The purpose is
to afford the orchardists and farmers in the foothills easier facili-
ties for getting their produce to market and at a lower cost.
Passengers will be carried, as well as freight, and power will be
supplied by the South Yuba Water Co .

Portland, Or. — A part}' of Scotch capitalists accompanied by
their own engineer, proposes to purchase the street railway sys-
tem of Salem and to bond it for $200,000. It is also announced
that this party is negotiating the consolidation of the entire street
railway service of Portland excepting the cable road to Portland
Heights. This consolidation involves an investment of $3,000-
000 and will take in 115 miles of street railway tracks owned by
the East Side Company, running from Portland to Oregon City
with lateral lines at several points, the Portland Consolidated
Street Railway company and the City and Suburban Street Rail-
way company with lines traversing the city in all directions.

San Francisco. — The electric trolley road now being built on
Fillmore street will encounter a grade of 25.5 per cent, between
Green and Vallejo streets, and a grade of 24 per cent, between
Yallejo and Broadway, to overcome which the Market-street
Railway Company proposes to place an underground cable under
each track ; this cable running over sheaves at the top and bot-
tom of the hill. The cable will be run around the sheaves after
the manner of an ordinary cable road, and will be operated by an
electric motor geared to the sheave at the top of the hill. No or-
dinary form of grip will be provided on the cars, but instead a
special grip will be hooked on to the car, securing it rigidly to
the cable.

3°

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. i.

Riverside, Cal. — Professor Baldwin, Iresident of the San
Antonio Light and Power Company, of Pomona, in a recent lec-
ture, named Mill Creek, Lytle Creek and the Santa Ana and San
Jacinto rivers as among the best streams to be relied upon to
furnish power the year round in this portion of Southern Califor-
nia. Electric power could b^ delivered in Riverside from the San
Jacinto at a cost of $125,000 for 300 h. p., and he advised the City
Trustees to change their call from $40,000, to be voted for a mu-
nicipal lighting plant, to $125,000.

New Westminster, B. C. — F. S. Barnard, M. P., manager of
the Consolidated Railway and Light Company, proposes to de-
velop the water power of Seymour Creek at a cost of $200,000, in
the event of a bonus of $50,000 from the city and the acceptance
of a proposal to light the city at 25 per cent, less than the present
cost, the bonus named to be used in the construction of a railroad
from Sapperton to Stevenson. The project contemplates the de-
livery of 1,000 h. p.

Sacramento, Cal.— The contract between the Central Elec-
tric R ilway Company and the Capital Gas Company, by which
the latter furnishes electric power for street railway purposes, ex-
pires on June 30th, by which time the electric transmission from
Folsom must-be in operation. Superintendent T. A. W. Shock,
of the Sacramento Power and Light Company, states that the
Folsom transmission will be started by June 24th, when the first
equipment of 1,000 h. p. will be in operation. Of this 300 h. p.
will be required by the railway and the balance will be for sale.
In all 280 men are now employed on the work. A movement is
on foot to celebrate the completion of the Folsom transmission
by an electric carnival, to be held during the State Fair.

Grass Valley, Cal. — Contracts have been awarded by the
Nevada County Electric Power Company to the Stanley Electric
Manufacturing Company, through Martin & Lindner, for two 300-
kilowatt Stanle)' two-phase generators, and to the Pelton Water
Wheel Company for two Pelton wheels to drive the same. The
plant will be located on the South Yuba River, where 2,500 h. p.
can be developed with comparative ease, driving the wheels un-
der a head of 250 feet. The transmission circuit will run direct
to Nevada City, whence a loop circuit will be continued for a
distance of nine miles from the power-house, embracing Grass
Valley and seven groups of mines. The contracts just awarded
are for the initial installation.

Fresno, Cal. — A gang of men is at work on the canal to fur-
nish water from the North Fork of the San Joaquin River to the
power house for the Fresno transmission. An impounding reser-
voir, to contain 3.500,000 cubic feet of water, and which amount
can easily be doubled, will be readily constructed by throwing up
a low embankment. The pipe line to the power house will be
4,000 feet long, delivering water at a head ■ f 1,410 feet. Pelton
wheels, each having a capacity of 400 h. p., are to be used, and it
is proposed that the generators will deliver current at 550 volts,
which will be raised to 11,000 volts for transmission and delivered
in Fresno, a distrnce of 33 miles, at a loss of 10 per cent. The in-
itial plant will have a capacity of 1,000 h. p. The corporation is
backed with Chicago capital.

LIQMTINQ.

Tintic, Utah.— The new electric light plant has been started.
Lewiston, Idaho. — W.A.Smith has applied for an electric-
light franchise.

Arcata, Cal. — The new arc and incandescent plant will soon
be in operation.

Chico, Cal. — Bids for an electric light franchise will shortly
be advertised for.

Vernon, B. C. — The question of a municipal electric lighting
plant is again agitated.

Colton, Cal. — The question of a municipal electric lighting
plant is being agitated.

Hailey, Idaho.— The electric light plant has been leased to
John Hart for one year.

Kamloops, B. C— An electric lighting plant is to be placed
in the Slocan Star mine.

Astoria, Or.— The river steamer Telephone is having an elec-
tric light plant installed.

Alameda. Cal.— The city has concluded to furnish incandes-
cent service at meter rates.

Butte, Mont.— The electric light company is constructing a
40- by 120-foot addition to its plant.

Bodie,Cal.— Part of the Three Mile Post mine on the Haw-
thorne Road is lighted by electricity.

Ventura, Cal.— The Board of Trustees has approved of speci-
fications for an electric lighting plant.

Missoula, Mont.— The electric light companv will soon
begin work on a new power dam to cost $100,000.

Sonoka, Cal. — An electric lighting plant is to be placed in
the Miller & Holmes mine at Quartz Mountain.

Chico, Cal. — The public are demanding the installation of
an electric lighting plant by the local gas company.

New Westminster, B. C— A proposition is on foot for the
sale of the municipal lighting plant and water works.

Boulder, Montana. — Frank Bernatz is considering a plan for
the erection of water works and an electric lighting plant.

Victoria, B C— The municipal lighting plant has been in-
creased by the addition of two 60-light Wood arc dynamos.

Florence, Col.— The new cyanide mill of the Metallic Ex-
traction Company has installed an 8>a-kilow-att incandescent
plant.

Spokane, Wash.— The new Court House is to have an elec-
tric lighting plant. Address A. L. Thorp, Chairman, Spokane,
Wash.

Pasadena, Cal.— The Pasadena Electric Light & Power Co. is
installing a new 250-horse-power engine, and a 1200-light
alternator.

Victoria, B. C.--M. Hutchinson has been elected general
superintendent and chief engineer of the Municipal Electric
Light Works.

Salt Lake City, Utah.— The Citizens Electric Co. has pur-
chased a site for its powder house, and is rapidly pushing work on
its new plant.

Oroville, Cal. — A franchise for an electric lighting plant in
the towns of Gridlev and Biggs has been sold to T. C. Blair and
L. H. Williams.

San Bernardino, Cal.— An electric lighting plant and a
20 h. p. electric motor, is to be placed in the Southern Califor-
nia State Asylum.

Seattle, Wash.— The Seattle Electric & Gas Fixture Co. have
obtained the contract for the electric lighting plant of the new
State University.

Helena, Mont. — H C. Sterling has been appointed Superin-
tendent of the Helena Power and Light Company, vice J. A.
Tupper, resigned.

Helena, Mont.— The Capital Lighting Company having se-
cured the citv contract, will send Manager J. A. Tupper East for
additional equipment shortly.

Riverside, Cal.— The special election recently called, voted
to incur an indebtedness of $40,000 for the construction of a
municipal electric lighting plant.

Cripple Creek, Col.— The Gold and Silver Extraction Com-
pany of America (Limited) has placed a 6-kilowatt Edison dvna-
mo and incandescent plant in its new cyanide mill.

San Mateo, Cal.— The San Mateo Electric Light Company,
recently incorporated by F. M. and F. A. Greenwood et al., has
applied for a franchise to erect pole lines for lighting the city.

Mill Valley, Cal.— The San Rafael Gas and Electric Light
Company is stringing wires between San Rafael and Mill Valley,
and will furnish incandescent service in Mill Vallev earlv in
July.

San Francisco, Cal.— It is announced by J. B. Crockett,
President of the San Francisco Gas Light Co., that that company
is to erect an electric light and power plant, costing about
$3,000,000.

San Jose. Cal. — The San Jose Lighting Companv has been
incorporated with a capital stock of $250,000. The Directors are
C. F. Wilcox, R. L. Slack, J. R. Patton, Wiliiam Sumner and J.
J. Southheimer.

Auburn, Cal.— The Republican states that the South Yuba Co.
will have its lighting service in operation in Newcastle, Penryn,
Loomis and Rocklin by July 1st. It is to be a water power plant
under a head of 483 feet.

Boise City, Idaho —The people of the New Plymouth colony,
Payette Valley, propose to construct a canal three miles long and
build an electric plant for lighting the village. Wm. E. Smvthe
is the father of the colony.

Los Angeles, Cal.— Bids were received until June 20th for
the furnishing of materials and labor for the erection of an
electric _ lighting plant, to cost less than $10,000, at the Pa-
cific National Home for I >. V. S.

Salt Lake City, Utah.— An ordinance has been passed fixing
the maximum height of the electric light poles at thirty feet, the
lowest at twenty-three feet on paved streets, the maximum
height at twenty-seven feet on unpaved streets.

Oakland, Cal.— The contract for lighting the city by gas
and electricity for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1896. has been
awarded the Oakland Gas Light and Heat Companv, which vol-
untarily made a reduction of $5,000 in the contract price.

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

Vol. I.

AUGUST, 1895

No. 2.

£>tQQfi Qradhnts on Qlectric ^oads.

By Lieut. W. Stuart-Smith, U. S. N.

Some years after the completion of the Richmond
Electric Road, and when facts had demonstrated that
electric traction was an assured success, Mr. Frank J.
Sprague gave an account of some of his experiences
showing the difficulties to be overcome. Among other
things to be surmounted was a grade of 10 per cent.,
and so great did the undertaking seem that Mr. Sprague
and his engineers were fearful of possible failure until

Mr. Sprague remarked to Mr. S. Dana Greene that
some instruments were needed, and these were presently
brought — four strong mules. With stronger motor equip-
ments the " instruments " became unnecessary, and as
improvements were made steeper grades were overcome
until hills nearly ceased to be a terror to street railway
engineers. At present, with the powerful equipments
provided, grades having nearly the greatest theoretical

Fig. 5.— The Fillmore Street Grade in San Francisco— 25M Per Cent.

the trial car actually began to mount upward. Just be-
fore reaching the foot of the grade there was a general
expression of fear as to the result of the attempt, the
only confident member of the party being a machinist,
who was willing to risk his hard-earned dollars that the
car would go up. As the grade was reached and the car
started smoothly upward the hearts within it beat joy-
fully, but soon unpleasant sounds and bad smells came
from beneath the car and the joy was not unalloyed.
The top was reached and the fact demonstrated that a
self-propelled car would go up a 10 per cent, grade ; also
that the 5 h. p. equipments with which the car was pro-
vided were far too small.

Copyrighted 1895, by Geo. P

possible rise up which self-propelled vehicles can go are
undertaken. In many places, however, notably in San
Francisco, the grades are so great as to be beyond the
power of any car depending upon the friction between
wheels and track to surmount. As such grades are gen-
erally short — one to three blocks — a simple and success-
ful method by which self-propelled cars could mount
them would permit the extending of electric traction to
all parts of the city, and a description of some of the
plans in operation and proposed may not be uninter-
esting.

One of the first attempts to overcome excessive
grades was made in 1887 by Mr. Leo Daft, in Pittsburg,

Low. All Rights Reserved.

32

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. 2.

Pa. The grade was about 16 per cent., and with the
equipments then in use could not be overcome by direct
traction. The old style Daft locomotive was used to haul
trailers. The heavy motor was carried inside the loco-
motive and geared to the axle by a sprocket chain. A
small shaft carried in a pivoted framework was also
driven by a chain. This shaft carried a sprocket wheel,
the projections of which entered holes in an iron plate
which was laid between the rails on the grade. When
running on the level the movement of a lever raised the
sprocket wheel clear of the road and on the grade being
reached it was lowered, and, gearing with the perforated

subway which extends the length of the grade. Near
one of the main rails is a conduit slot, D. At the top
and bottom of the grade are sheaves, around which
passes a rope, the ends of which are made fast to a car
carrying slabs of lead, O. O , the total weight of which
is seven tons. Buffers (E. E.) having air cushions are
provided at the top and bottom to arrest the motion of
the counterweight car. Figs. 2, 3 and 4 show plan and
elevation of the coupling by means of which the car is
connected to the rope. Its position on the rope is shown
at H, Fig. 1. The link M, secured to the rope as shown,
carries the pivoted piece K, the head H, of which pro-

Fig. 1.— Steep Gradients on Electric Roads. The Seattle Counter Weight.

plate, assisted the car up the hill. It was used for a few
months only. Various other methods of assisting a car
up grades by the use of rack and pinion have been pro-
posed, but for ordinary street service none of them have
come into permanent use.

On the line of the San Francisco and San Mateo
road, in San Francisco, there is a grade of nearly 18 per
cent, on Harrison street, between Second and Third,
down which cars go on the uptown line. No attempt is
made to climb this grade, it being overcome in two stages
on another street. When the road was first built it was
considered dangerous to descend this grade without some
retarding force other than that carried by the car, and a

jects above the slot, as in Fig. 3. The drawbar I is per-
manently carried by the car, and when desired it is
coupled to H by means of the loose pin J.

The operation is as follows : The road is single
track and is used by cars going in both directions. Sup-
pose the counterweight is at the foot of the grade and a
car is starting to go down. The drawbar is coupled
to the brake and the descending car pulls the coun-
terweight to the top, where it passes over a slight re-
verse grade to prevent its running back. The next car
coming up grade finds the coupling at the foot, and after
making connection uses its motors to pull the weighted
car over the slight reverse grade when the descending

Fig. 2. — Steep Gradients on Electric Roads.

weight was lowered from the bridge at the Second street
cut. As the car descended it raised this counter-
weight to the top by means of a rope, and the work thus
done made it impossible for the car to run away. After
the car reached the foot of the grade the counterweight
was lowered to the bottom by means of a drum, and was
ready to assist the next car. The arrangement was a
bother, and after the motormen became more skilled in
handling the car it was discarded and the descent made
on wheel brakes alone, with the assistance of plenty of
sand.

An arrangement patented by a Mr. Kuhlmann has
been in successful operation for the past three years on a
single track road in Seattle, Wash. The operation is
made clear by the accompanying illustrations. In Fig.
1, A is the main car track and B an auxiliary track in a

Fit! 3

c

^E

J.

F,jt

Fig. 3 and 4. — Steep Gradients on Electric Roads.

weight assists the car in mounting. This grade is but
16 per cent., and under such conditions as exist in San
Francisco, and with modern equipments, would no
doubt be taken without any outside assistance, but the
cars in Seattle are equipped with the old style of F 15
double reduction motors which are not powerful enough
for that grade, and moreover the track in winter is
very slippery with ice and snow. The same arrange-
ment was installed in Portland, Or., and Providence,
Pv. I., but the write.- does not know whether they are
now in use.

San Francisco is pre-eminently a city of heavy
grades, the overcoming of which was the incentive
which led to the development of the cable system for
street-cars. Up to a year ago there were but two elec-

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

33

trie roads in the city, the San Francisco and San Ma-
teo and the Metropolitan. When the Market-street
Company obtained possession of nearly all the street-
car lines in the city it turned its attention to electricity
as a motive power and the success of the first road, the
Mission-street line, was so marked that the work of elec-
trically equipping other roads was rapidly pushed until
at this present writing the Company has many miles

Fig. 6. — Steep Gradients on Electric Roads.

in operation and many more under construction. The
first roads equipped were those having grades that could
be easily surmounted, but when the cross-town line on
Fillmore street was undertaken very heavy grades
were encountered between Green street and Broadway.
From Green to Vallejo street the grade is 25 J per
cent., and from Vallejo street to Broadway it is 24 per
cent. These were too heavy for direct traction, and
plans were devised in the office of the Company's en-
gineers which, will undoubtedly solve the problem
of overcoming steep grades and permit the elec-
trical equipping of all the cable lines. The views giveu
show the condition of things at this writing.

The view (shown in Fig. 5) looking up grade is from
Vallejo street toward Broadway, and shows an ordinary
cable construction, the only difference being a guide 4"
xl", which extends the length of the conduit at about
half the depth of the conduit as in Figure 9. An end-
less rope will be used which passes around sheaves in pits
at the top and bottom of the grade, the sheave at the
bottom being carried in a cradle, by means of which
stretch of the rope can be taken up. In the upper pits
— a photograph of which showing the main pedestal is
giveu in Fig. 6 — are two sheaves, the forward one being
an idler and the after one the main sheave. The cable
coming from the conduit on one side passes around the
main sheave, then forward around the idler, back to the
main sheave, around which it makes a second turn, and
thence to the other conduit. This gives so much hold
as to prevent any possibility of slipping of the rope.
The main sheave is provided with a brake, the lever of
which is located so that a man can see the cars on grade
and at once apply the brake in case the draw pennant
connecting either car to the rope should give way and
leave the other car free to run down hill.

At two points on the rope are clamped travelers
which ride on the guides and prevent the rope being
pulled upward into the slot. The position of these is
such that when one is at the top of the grade on one
track the other is at the bottom on the other track. The
sketch presented in Fig. 8 shows the construction clear-
ly, and it will be seen that it is impossible for them to get
off the guidebar. They project a short distance above
the slot and are provided with holes to which draw pen-
ants about ten feet long are shackled. Two short pen-
ants are secured to the car, one to the car body and one
to the track, the duplicate arrangement being for safety
only. The penants on car and cable carry halves of a
coupling which are secured together by a pin which
locks with a half turn. The coupling and uncoupling
will be done by men stationed at the ends of the grade.
Double crossovers are provided at both top and bottom
of the grade, so that cars can pass from one track to
the other. The necessity for this will readily be seen.

In Seattle, on the Union Trunk Line, a cable and
electric line used the same track on a steep grade, and
though the electric car could go up the grade alone, it
was considei-ed not altogether safe, especially in winter,
and an attempt was made to obtain assistance by coupl-
ing to the cable dummy. The electric car was too
heavy and the motors were used to take the strain, and
trouble was at once experienced. The old style Edison
controller was used, and it was impossible to obtain
even an approximate agreement between the speed of
the cable and that at which the electric car tended to
run. The cable speed was so slow that the armature
speed was forced down to a point where the current
taken was more than it could stand, and after several
severe burnouts the plan was abandoned.

Fig. 7. — Steet Gradients on Electric Roads.

It is desired, if possible, in this Fillmore street in-
stallation, to make use of no other power than that
which can be obtained from the car motors, the rope
ordinarily being dead, and the first trials are to be made
with this end in view, the operation being as follows :
Suppose a car approaches the top of the grade and
wishes to go down. It finds the traveler on that side
and couples to it by means of the penants. At the
same time a car at the bottom on the other track couples

34

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. 2.

to the traveler found there. Both cars will use their
motors, the ascending one doing its best to climb the
grade, and the descending one pulling on the cable,
thereby assisting the one climbing up. The motor
equipments on each car have a nominal rating of 50 h.
p., with a capacity of 100 per cent, advance on this rat-
ing for short periods. Thus, the descending car is ca-
pable of exerting 100 h. p. on the rope, and as the two
cars are balanced against each other, this power is avail-
able for overcoming the friction of the rope, sheaves,
etc., and caring for a possible difference between the
loads of the ascending and descending cars.

The engineers in charge of the work have so much
doubt of the success of this plan of working, that the
upper pit and the entire length of the conduit is to be
left open until after a trial, in order that changes may
be made in case of necessity. The change would be the
installing of a stationary motor in the upper pit and

hauled in cradles, one of which is attached to each end
of a cable operated by a 50 h. p. Sprague motor. At the
top of the main grade there is a short reverse grade,
down which the cradle descends into the water to re-
ceive or discharge a boat. The motor is geared to a
large drum by several reductions, the loss in which is
necessarily considerable. When the motor starts and
the cradles at both ends of the rope are being hauled
out of the water and up the inclines the motor de-
velops about 50 h. p., but as soon as the one at the top
passes over the crest and the weight of the cradles and
boats are balanced against each other the power falls to
about 5 h. p., this being all that is required to haul
1,800 feet of rope and overcome loss in gearing, etc.

Reverting to the street railways, the power that
may be required for moving the cars in an extreme case
is easily shown. Suppose the car going down grade is
empty and the one coming up is carrying 100 passengers,

UM

*°P—&f Siof — -L ■-

rftpi,

^"ioU--

■J— - -

\

Fig. 8. — Steep Gradients on Electric Roads.

using it to drive the main sheave, and with it the rope,
but in the opinion of the writer the plan as above out-
lined will be found to give perfect success.

The cars are not in a position to make use of the
entire weight for traction purposes, but the component
of the weight normal to the rail will probably be suffi-
cient to prevent skidding of the wheels, in which case
the entire power of the motors will be available, and the
writer believes that in case it should be found impossi-
ble to use the motors of the ascending car, owing to dif-
ficulty in obtaining a balance between the electrical
conditions of the two car equipments, the power of the
descending car will be ample for hauling the other up
grade. This confidence is based on the experience of
the Kyoto Canal Company, Kyoto, Japan, the working
of which the writer had under observation for two
years.

The Kyoto Canal connects with Lake Biwa, and
upon reaching the suburbs of Kyoto, it finds itself far
above the level of the section running through the city.
This difference of level is overcome by an incline rail-
way 1,800 feet long, up and down which boats are

having an average weight of 120 pounds, or a total load
of 12,000 pounds. If the speed is eight miles per hour
the vertical rise on a 25 per cent, grade will be 176 feet
per minute, which for the load of 12,000 pounds will re-
quire 64 horse power. This added to the 5 h. p. re-
quired to haul rope, etc., will make 69 h. p. required in
an extreme case As there is available 100 h. p. on the
descending car alone, it is evident that the power is
ample.

Moreover, with the series-parallel controller and the
much greater range of working than was possible in the
above mentioned Seattle failure, there should be no dif-
ficulty in the ascending car using its motors. When the
cars are coupled to the rope and the grade taken, for
similar positions of the controller on the two cars the
speeds will tend to be very different, and as they must
have the same speed, owing to their connection with the
rope, trouble may be experienced, but as the rope is not
fixed in its speed, being controlled by the cars them-
selves, after some hunting the motors should settle down
to a common speed. The wide range of working possi-
ble with the series-parallel controller will assist in this,

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

35

and after the motormen have had some experience, a
balance should be quickly attained.

Considerable curiosity has been expressed as to the
use of the double cross-over at top and bottom of the grade
(Fig. 10). The raison d'etre is plain. The car coming
up on the proper track will leave its traveler on the
wrong side for the next car going down, and hence this
car must cross over in order to couple to it, and simi-
larly, the ascending car must cross over at the bottom
in order to get the lower traveler. At top and bottom
they must again cross to their proper track. Thus

<Tlic 5Iccti-ic.nl 3ouru.nl. v._ :■••'.*

Fig. 9. — Steep Gradients ox Electric Roads.

every other car going in either direction must cross
over.

Another plan for climbing grades is the electric
tractor, invented by a Mr. Van Zile. It is built on the
principle of automatically controlling the traction be-
tween a middle rail called the traction rail and two
drivers, which are toggled together at an angle in such
a manner as to grip the traction rail between them.
The amount of pressure is directly controlled by the
tractive force required. As a middle rail somewhat
raised above the street surface is required, this plan is
hardly likely to be applied to street car service.

On Monday, Aug. 5th, the plan above described was
tested and found to work so successfully, as to be really
monotonous. An old-time bobtail car was first lowered
down, secured to the rope and used as-a drag to assist
in lowering the first heavy electric car. Two electric
cars were then secured to the rope and tests made with
the cars loaded in various ways. The car coming up
grade with a considerable load made no use of its
motors and was readily pulled up by the empty de-
scending car with controller on second notch, showing,
as the writer expected, that the power of one car is far
more than necessary for hauling the ascending car under
any possible condition of load, and settling once for all
the question as to whether it would be necessary to in-
stall a stationary motor in the pit. Previous to the
tests, the writer was informed that the consulting elec-
trician of the company, Mr. S. L. Foster, doubted the
success of the plan, but during the tests he said there
was at no time any doubt in his mind, as from the begin-
ning he was confident of success. There were many
doubting Thomases, but he was not one of them.

The system was under hard test daily until Saturday,
July 10, when the regular service on the Fillmore street
line was extended to the bay, covering the grades here

described and the scheme is now working to perfect sa-
tisfaction.

The Market Street Company is to be congratu-
lated upon having found a simple and successful solu-
tion to a difficult problem.

STATICAL ELECTRICITY IN HISTORY.

San Francisco Council, ISTo. 1, of the National Con-
vention of Stationary Engineers, has engaged the serv-
ices of Mr. M. A. de Lew, E. E., M. E., LL. B., to del-
iver three lectures on electricity. The first was given
on Thursday, Aug. 1st. His subject was " Statical Elec-
tricity." In the course of his remarks he spoke of some
of the popular delusions. He contended that Dr. Ben-
jamin Franklin was not the first to discover atmospheric
electricity. He gave the discovery to the people who
named the Pyramids, stating that they noticed a blueish
flame at the tops — hence the name, which means fire-
mounds. His next allusion was to Flavius Joseph,
known as Josephus, the commentator on the Old Testa-
ment, who says tha*- the priests of the Tribe of Levi put
pillars around the Temple of Solomon to protect it from
'•heavenly fire." Even supposing that the story as
above told by Josephus was without foundation, it does
not remove the fact that Josephus himself perfectly un-
derstood the principle upon which to protect buildings.
What he termed as something in proof of the foregoing
statement was in " Gibbons' Rome." During the reign
of Julian the Apostate he ordered the Temple of Solo-
mon to be rebuilt (which was destroyed). The work
was somewhat under way when it was struck by light-
ning, as in the course of reconstruction they failed to take
the precaution that was taken while it was first being
built. Socrates agrees with the foregoing statement.

Fig. 10. — Steep Gradients on Electric Roads.

The lecturer also questioned the old theories of posi-
tive and negative conditions in relation to electrical
changes, which was accompanied by numerous illustra-
tions, concluding that positive was the presence and
negative the absence of electricity, indorsing Dr. Frank-
lin's theory on that point.

Mr. de Lew did not seem to think that electricity
was a name in the least applicable ; on the contrary he
thought the name Lord Lytton gave it, " voil," as in
every way superior. After the foregoing statements the
lecturer concluded with several illustrations regarding
lightning and artificial statical (so-called) electricity.
The audience evinced warm appreciation of the interest-
ing lecture given.

36

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. 2.

A GENERAL ELECTRIC SINGLE PHASE POWER
TRANSMISSION PLANT.

It is not well known that the General Electric Com-
pany has exploited a synchronous system of electric
power transmission, but the interesting plant installed
by that concern for the Walla Walla (Wash.) Gas and
Electric Company, in the spring "of 1893, demonstrates
this fact. The features of the installation are so dis-
tinctive and the plant being placed at a time when the
company named was believed to be strenuously endeav-
oring to devise a system of power transmission that
would, at least, be abreast of other manufacturers, lead
to the conclusion that the plant in question formed a

diameter, supplied with double nozzles and run at 100
revolutions per minute. The capacity of the wheels are
175 horse-power each, which is transmitted to the main
countershaft by means of two endless compound rope
drives, all as shown in the accompanying outline cut of
the plant (Fig. 1 .) The dynamos are belt driven
from the countershaft, and the plant was laid out for
double its present capacity. The synchronous motor at
the city station operates power and lighting generators.
The generating station contains one 100-kilowatt
single phase 2000-volt Thomson-Houston generator, hav-
ing a frequency of 8000 and being composite wound,
together with one 15-kilowatt 500-volt exciter, which
from the manner of its use, also becomes a starting

stepping stone in the development of the art. At that
time single phase transmission was in successful opera-
tion at Telluride, Col., using the synchronous system of
the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company,
and a similar plant was about to be installed by the
Standard Consolidated Mining Company of Bodie, Cal.,
but polyphase transmission was practically unknown iu
commercial circles. The Walla Walla Gas and Electric
Company felt it to be imperative that the water power
of Mill Creek should be utilized to operate its electric
light and power plant, and the installation described
was placed. That it operates satisfactorily is unques-
tionable, but it is improbable that similar conditions
would now be satisfied by the installation of a plant of
its character.

The generating station, which is situated on Mill
Creek, a distance of four miles from the city receiving
station, is operated by water power, the water being
brought in a wood stave pipe, 48 inches iu diameter, and
having a total length of 6000 feet. The effective head
is 66 feet and the wood pipe terminates in a sheet iron
Y pipe, supplying two Pelton wheels that are 6^ feet in

1 — Plan of Generating Station, Walla Walla
Transmission.

generator. These machines are shown iu Fig. 2 as A
and B respectively. The line consists of a single circuit
of No. o., B. & S. wire, leading direct from the generating
station to the city plant of the company, a distance of
about four miles. This receiving plant contains one
100-kilowatt 2000-volt synchronous motor, designated
as C, one 7J horse-power direct current bi-polar starting
motor, shown as 1), and a small 1^ kilowatt 110-volt ex-
citer, E, used for the fields of the synchronous motor,
and for operating the station lights. The starting motor,
D, drives a countershafting, to which is also belted the
small exciter, E, and the synchronous motor C. The
line terminates at each end at the levers of double pole,
double-throw switches, so coupled that at the generating
station the line may be thrown either upon the 5u0-volt
exciter or the 2000-volt alternator, and so that at the re-
ceiving station the line may be thrown upon the bi-
polar starting motor, or upon the 2000-volt synchronous
motor. The switchboards at the two stations contain all
the forms of instruments usual for the purposes of the
currents handled, the entire equipment being complete
in every detail.

The method of putting the plant in operation is as
follows : The generating plant is brought up to speed
and the rheostat in the fields of the 500-volt exciter is
cut out for maximum voltage. The fields of the gener-
ator are excited therefrom, no attention whatever being

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

37

paid to the voltage of the alternator. The douhle pole,
double-throw switch is then brought down upon the
jaws forming the terminals of the 500-volt exciter, which
throws its potential upon the line. The attendant at the
generating station has, in the meantime, telephoned to
the attendant at the recaiving station that he has started
up, whereupon the latter throws the line current upon
the small startiug motor by bringing down the switch
up-m its terminals, as shown iu the diagram. The
starting motor then brings the synchronous motor and
its exciter up to sp33d through countershafting. The
arm iture of the alternator runs idle in dead fields, but
the exciter is brought up to voltage an I connected with
its pilot lamp to avoid error. When the synchronous
motor has been brought up to proper speed, the station
attendant telephones to the power plant to stand by the
main switch, whereupon the motor attendant opens up
the main switch and quickly throws in the station trans-
former operating the pilot lamp and volt meter on
to the line through a primary switch, and then waits for

field circuit of the alternator with tho other hand. The
motor at once comes in step, the starting motor is then
shut down by throwing the clutch on its countershaft
pulley, and the plant does its work with perfect satis-
faction.

The method of starting was designed by Mr. W. A.
Burkholder, then District Engineer for the Pacific North-
west district of the General Electric Company, and who
is now General Superiutendent of the Portland (Ore.)
General Electric Company. Provided the speed of the
synchronous motor is higher than that of the generator,
the motor will invariably synchronize with the gener-
ator, and has never given any trouble whatever.

AS OTHEKS SEE US.'

"Kindly accept my congratulations upon the hand-
some and meaty paper you have started, and let me
offer my best wishes in your enterprise." — D. C. Jack-

SCPies r,eLo

Fig. 2. — Circuit Diagram of the Walla Walla Transmission.

the appearance of the 2000-volt alternating current be-
fore closing the main switch that throws the line to the
synchronous motor.

In the meantime, the attendant at the generating
station, who, in compliance with instructions from the
motor station attendant, has been standing by the main
switch, quickly throws the main switch from the 500-volt
contact to the 2000-volt contact as soon as he sees the
needle of the current indicator drop back to zero, which
obviously is positive information to him that the attend-
ant at the receiving station has cut the starting motor
off the line. Thereupon the attendant at the motor
station, who has been watching the pilot lamp operated
from the station transformer, throws the line upon the
synchronous motor with one hand as soon as the lamp
comes up to candle power, and immediately closes the

son, Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of
Wisconsin, Madison. Wis.

The advent of a serial devoted to electrical matters
and interests is not an unexpected circumstance in San
Francisco. Trade, scissors and paste have their neces-
sary place in the make-up of serial literature on this
coast, removed as it is some thousands of miles from
other fields of like activity, but there should be other
components in respectable make-up, and these are con-
spicuous in the present issue of The Electrical Jour-
nal.

We welcome our contemporary as an example of
" honest goods " provided out of investment and work,
and trust that the standard here set up will be main-
tained.— Industry, San Francisco.

38

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL,

[Vol. I, No. 2.

NIAGAKA'S WONDEKFUL PLANT*

The recent meeting of the American Institute of
Electrical Engineers at Niagara Falls was a most impor-
tant one mainly because of the attendant circum-
stances, the far-reachiug effects and the part they will
play in the history and development of the applications
of electricity. The wonderful work accomplished by
the Cataract Construction Company of course o'ershad-
owed all else in point of interest, and when, in the course
of that afternoon, that portion of the programme was
reached stating that " At 2 o'clock take carriages for
Power House of the Niagara Falls Power Co., the Pitts-
burg Keduction Co., etc.," everybody was on the tip-toe
of expectancy, for we were to see for the first time the
big 5000 horse power dynamos. This was to be the
opening day at the Power House and the first public ex-
hibition which had been given. Promptly at 2 o'clock
all were ready, and after a short drive we all reached
the Power House. It is not an imposing looking struct-
ure, but it gives the impression of solidity, and has a
built- to-last kind of air. The Institute button admitted
all the members and guests, and when we stepped inside
there it was — 5000 horse power, revolving at a high speed,
and yet so quietly and evenly that there was not a tre-
mor. No. 1 was the dynamo which was running, though
No. 2 was all set up. The switch-board instruments
read 2400 K. W. on one side of the two-phase circuits.
The power was being absorbed by a water rheostat, con-
nected directly to the armature circuit without the in-
tervention of transformers. The coils were of No. 2
iron wire, immersed in two large wooden tanks sunk be-
low the level of the canal. Water was brought, uuder a
head of five feet, through two pipes, one three and the
other four inches in diameter. The supply of water was
evidently no more than enough to keep the coils cool,
for it was bubbling and boiling at a tremendous rate.
The tanks were considerably below the floor level, and
the coils were thrown in by switches, putting on a greater
or less load as occasion might require. They had had a
load of 5500 horse power, but at this rate the thrust of
the vertical shaft was upwards, and the collars on the
thrust-bearing had not yet worn down enough to carry
it continuously, so they limbered up by degrees.

A piece of machinery which seemed to attract quite
as much attention as the dynamo itself was the governor.
It was made by Faesch & Piccard, and certainly per-
formed its work well. It was driven by gearing from
the main shaft, and operated to raise or lower the ring-
shaped gates which governed the amount of discharge,
thus throttling the water. When the dynamo was at
its normal speed of 250 revolutions per minute, the
whole load of 5000 horse power could be thrown off in-
stantly by opening the field-switch, and the speed would
only increase seven revolutions, a variation of less than
3 per cent. This was well within the guarantee, and
may be considered quite a remarkable performance. The
turbine wheel itself was very ingeniously arranged to
meet the severe conditions. With a head 140 feet high
and the amount of water required to develop 5000 horse
power, the pressure on an ordinary step-bearing would
have been something enormous, and would have been a
very serious problem. But it was entirely provided for
by forming the turbines of two wheels, one above the
other, the water entering between them, and by forming
the disk of the upper wheel solid, so that the weight of
the shaft and revolving parts of the dynamo were en-
tirely supported by the upward thrust of the column of
water.

A trap door was provided in the floor directly over

* Exclusive Correspondence of The Electrical Journal.

the wheels, and, on prying this up, the roaring, foaming
mass of white water could be seen tumbling about be-
low. There was a terrific downward rush of air, which
made the door very hard to open. Down here in the
wheel pits one could not hear himself speak, let him
shout as loud as he pleased, so all the conversation I
carried on with the workmen was done by writing ques-
tions on a piece of paper, to which they answered by
nodding or shaking the head. Everything seemed weird
in this rock-walled pit so far below the surface. Electric
lights are provided, but the flaming torches cast a lurid
glare over the men, who wore rubber coats, boots and
hats. The water was continually dropping down as it
came seeping through the walls, and in some places it
was quite deep on the plaakfioor. I had on my mackin-
tosh, and had borrowed a cap from one of the men, and,
with collar and trousers turned up, enjoyed it hugely.
All machinery is fascinating, but this is the most fascin-
ating place I had ever been in, and I walked around
shouting to the men at the top of my voice. But no-
body knew it, for that fearful screeching sound drowned
out everything else. It was unlike anything I had ever
heard before. It was too high to be a musical note, and
can only be described as a screech or howl. And there
was no let up to it. There were several explanations
offered by those who heard it, and here are two, which
may be taken for what they are worth. The first was
that the holes cut in the hollow sections of the shaft for
balancing purposes made of it a flute, and so produced
the sound. The second, and to me the more rational ex-
planation, was that as the guide wheel had 36 buckeis
and the turbine wheel 32, there would be produced at
each revolution over 1100 vibrations, which at four turns
per second might produce the required pitch. At any
rate, the noise down below was horrible, while up on top
scarcely a sound could be heard.

The shaft which transmits the power to the dynamo
above is of steel, hollow, and 38 inches in diameter, ex-
cept at the bearings, where it is reduced to 11 inches,
and is solid. A thrust bearing is provided at the top, to
take the difference between the weight of the revolving
parts and the upward thrust of the water. The latter is
calculated to amount to between 149,000 and 155,000
pounds, and depends on the quantity of water the tur-
bine is using. The weight of the revolving parts is
152,000 pounds, so that the thrust-bearing has only about
3000 pounds to provide for.

The top of the wheel-pit is arched over with solid
masonry, on which the foundations of the dynamo rest.
The armature is stationary, and is supported by a cylin-
drical casting through which the shaft passes, guided by
two bearings. The armature core is built up of sheet
steel stampings, there being eleven segments to the circle,
and each placed so as to break joints. The core is held
together by 66 nickel steel bolts, and the conductors are
imbedded in 187 slots around the periphery. The exter-
nal revolving field is made up of a ring-yoke with inter-
nally projecting pole-pieces. The ring is of nickel steel,
nearly twelve feet in diameter, and was forged from a
single ingot weighing 120,000 pounds. It is supported
by an umbrella-shaped casting called the driver, which
is keyed to the tapered top of the shaft, and has the
ring bolted to its periphery. The driver is provided
with openings at the top, and so arranged with ventilat-
ing scoop-shaped funnels that a powerful upward draft
will be created through the machine. This is necessary,
as heat must be dissipated at the rate of 100 horse
power. At 250 revolutions the peripheral speed of the
ring is 9300 feet per minute, and the tensile stretch 5052
pounds per square inch. The designers calculate that
it will be impossible for the wheels to exceed a speed cf

August, 1 895. J

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

39

400 revolutions to the minute, wlieu the stress would be
13,000 pounds per square inch. But as the elastic limit
of the steel used in the ring is 48,000 pounds per square
inch, there is still a large factor of safety. It may be
interesting to state that at 800 revolutions per minute
the ring would burst, but the circumferential velocity
would then be something like six miles per minute.

From the dynamo four cables lead to the big switches
operated by compressed air, and convey the two-phase
currents to the bus bars, whence it can be distributed to
the users. The switches open all four wires at once, and
are provided with non-arcing contacts, so that when the
circuit is opened with the full load of 5,000 horse-power
on the spark is no greater than with 25 amperes of di-
rect current at 110 volts. Special volt meters, ampere
meters and watt meters were designed for this plant
and designated as the Niagara type. The whole electri-
cal plant may be looked upon as a magnificent piece of
execution, and as embodying the highest skill on the
part of the designers. The conditions imposed were
most trying, but each difficulty was met and the plant
stands to-day as a model in every way. There may be
a difference of opinion as to the present value of this
immense work, as to its safety as an investment, but
there can be nothing but praise for the engineers who
designed it and for those who carried out the designs.
We were all greatly pleased that we should have an op-
portunity to see the plant, and it was quite late in the
afternoon when we took the carriages for the Pittsburg
Reduction Company's works. There we examined the
big rotary transformers which deliver direct current at
a pressure of 160 volts, each machine giving 2,500 am-
peres. There are at present four in place, but the ulti-
mate capacity of the building is eight. The 2,200-volt
current is transformed in two static transformers, one on
each phase, to a pressure of 115 volts and delivered at
once to the motor end of the rotaries. The direct cur-
rent bus bars are flat copper bars, 3 inches high and half
an inch thick, and we had the pleasure of seeing them
disappear through bushings in the wall. We were not
admitted to the furnace room, aud as the current had
not been turned on yet there was nothing more to be
seen. W. E., Jr.

Trenton, N. J.

A LIFT BRIDGE ON THE CHICAGO ELECTRIC
ELEVATED.

That the applications of electricity are readily able
to surmount every difficulty that appears in the execu-
tion of practically every enterprise of whatever magnit-
ude is shown by the interesting illustration of the lift
bridge recently erected over the Chicago river by the
Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Company —
the new electric elevated road of Chicago. In this in-
stance the line current, or rather third rail current, not
only operates the trains but is utalized for operating the
left bridge and the constant use that it is put to from
the continual passing of craft on the Chicago river has
demonstaated its worth most thoroughly.

ELECTRIC LIGHT CHEAPER THAN CANDLES.

In San Rafael, recently, some ladies who had been
appoin ted managers of a lawn party to be given by the
church, were dismayed on learning that the money set
apart for buying candles, was not nearly sufficient to
enable the grounds and building to be properly lighted,
and why the ladies appealed to the San Rafael" Gas and
Electric Light Company to help them out of their di-
lemma is not clear, but they did so, the place was beau-
tifully lighted, and a surplus remained in the " candle "
fund.

"AS OTHERS SEE US."

" Let me congratulate you — or rather the elec-
trical interests." — F. Benedict Herzog, Ph. D., New
York.

Mr. Low's new paper, The Electrical Journal, has
appeared. It is attractive in appearance and contains
much of interest to electrical men. —Pacific Electrician,
San Francisco.

"I * * shall hope to see in your publication
from time to time, articles of value on the subject [of
electricity as a fire hazard.] I am sure Mr. Low can
contribute materially to the literature of this branch of
insurance work." — W. J. Jenks, New York.

William Henry Preece, F. R. S., Engineer-in-chief,
General Post-office, London, writes in receipt of the in-
itial number of The Electrical Journal : " I haveread
your article on the ' Express ' system with much inter-
est," and " I quite long to come over and see it work."

A Lift Bridge on the Chicago Electric Elevated.

We welcome to our exchange table The Electri-
cal Journal, a paper which will be published monthly
at San Francisco. The editors are F. A. C. Perrine and
George P. Low, which fact in itself is enough to insure a
publication of the very highest class, — Street Railway
Review, Chicago.

The Electrical Journal, edited by F. A. C.
Perrine and Geo. P. Low, and published at San Fran-
cisco, appeared for the first time July 1st. It is claimed
to be the newest electrical publication in America,
which is certainly well founded. The publication is
neat and attractive in appearance and its reading pages
contain much that is of interest. The editors are both
well-known to the electrical fraternity. — Electrical In-
dustries, Chicago.

The first number of The Electrical Journal of
San Francisco is out. This is Geo. P. Low's paper, and
its pending appearance was mentioned in the Western
Electrician, several weeks ago. It is a monthly, of hand-
some appearance, and from the quality of the first issue
gives promise of being an important factor in the elec-
trical advancement of the Pacific Coast region. The
editors, Mr. Low and Dr. Perrine, are to be congratu-
lated.— Western Electrician, Chicago.

40

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. 2.

Wl\* SEtettritat Journal*

An Illustrated Review op the Industrial Applications of
Electricity, Gas and Power.

EDITED BY

F. A. C. PERRINE, D. Sc, and GEO. P. LOW.

Subscription ..... One Dollar per Year in Advance.
Advertising Rates Furnished on Application.

PUBMSJ4ED ]W01>lTHIiV BY GEO. P. liOW,

303 California Street San Francisco.

LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE. MAIN 5709.

[Entered as Second-Class Matter at the San Francisco Post Office.]

VOLUME I.

AUGUST, 1895.

NUMBER 2.

jPxrcrcourccEixiEircT.

Beginning with the September issue and for reasons
which will appear therein, the title of this publication
will be The Journal of Electricity.

(GEO. P. LOW.

EDI TO-RIAL.

It may be that the commercial sue-
power transmis- cegg of the er transmission plants

SIONSOFTHE , . . , ■, . „ , ; _, , _Tf

future now "einS installed at Folsom, Niagara

and other places, will create such a
prestige for alternating current machinery in the minds
of inventors that we will never again see a great direct
current undertaking for the purpose of long-distance
transmission. However, it is wise to bear in mind that
the development of alternate current power transmission
in this country is carried forward by the weight of the
authority of two great manufacturing companies ; that
there are problems still awaiting practical solution
which may be prejudicial to the economy of these plants ;
that successful long-distance direct current transmis-
sions at high voltage are at present installed in Europe
and California ; that five hundred volt transmissions of
ten or twelve miles are a commercial success in this
country in connection with many electric railroads ; and
that recent improvements in the design of direct current
machinery point to the possibility of the generation of
higher voltage than has heretofore been attempted in
large units.

Constant current generators as large as 100 K. W.,
producing a current of ten amperes, have been in suc-
cessful operation for the past two or three years, but it
is undoubtedly hazardous engineering to furnish four or
five hundred horse-power to be distributed small motors
by the means of such machine. Neither does the motor-
transformer operate at an advantage on a circuit in
which the maximum current is ten amperes and the
voltage is kept within the extreme limit of 20,000 volts.
On the other hand eight to ten thousand volts seems to
be the limit where the current rises to forty or fifty am-
peres, even when generators in series are employed.
While transmission by the means of a direct current is
placed by these difficulties, which seem to limit the

power transmitted over a single line to 250 or 300 K. W.,
alternating current transmission has already seen the
operation of 3,750 K. W. units, and it has been an-
nounced that several of such units are to be run in par-
allel.

But possibly the immunity from accidents and need
of repairs, said to be possessed by alternating current
machinery, may be only a fancied security.

We can see the sparks at the commutator of a di-
rect current generator, and we are able at once to per-
ceive when they are destructive and at what time they
are harmless ; furthermore, the damage they may do is
not likely to be instantaneous, but no man can tell when
some accident along the circuit has occasioned surgings
in an alternating machine, nor is mortal quickness suffi-
cient to prevent the damage which maybe accomplished
by such surgings. Yet up to the present time resonance
has not proved to be an insurmountable difficulty, whereas
sparking at the brushes has absolutely prevented the
introduction of direct current machines of large size when
high voltages are to be employed.

This limitation of the direct current machine has
not been touched upon in any of the discussions of
either Sayres' compound wound armature in England,
or of Ryan's field compounding for armature reaction in
this country. The experiments of both these designers
have been conducted with low voltage machines, and it
has been very properly objected that in face of practical
machines running sparklessly at five hundred volts and
currents as high as two or three hundred amperes, no
great extra expense is reasonable in order to gain spark-
less commutation at lower voltages. It may be true that
those of the Sayres or Ryan construction are some
tenths of a per cent, more efficient than machines of the
ordinary design running sparklessly, but the advantages
of a slight gain in efficiency is insignificant in compari-
son with the possibility which these designs present of
the construction and operation of large direct current
units distributing power at a great distance to rotary
transformers in parallel, feeding low pressure networks
in direct competition with the modern multiphase alter-
nating current systems.

Should either of these designers accomplish the gen-
eration of high voltages by the means of large direct
current units, the expense of the maintenance of a com-
mutation under ordinary wear will undoubtedly sink
into insignificance in comparison with the lack of com-
plication of other details in the system. The problem
of insulation will be simplified ; capacity, resonance and
self-inductive effects will be eliminated, and we will see
the direct current taking its place and doing its proper
share of the long-distance transmission which is still re-
maining to be accomplished.

The signs of the times are clearly set

forth in the struggle now going on be-

vital tween the Oakland, San Leandro &

issue. Haywards Electric Railway Company

and the Southern Pacific Company for

the control of the traffic between San

Francisco and Haywards. It is the now familiar story

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

41

of the trolley invading the domain of the steam road,
not only in its passenger business, but in express matter
and freight as well, and present indications are that
upon the shoulders of the Haywards electric road will
fall the burden of demonstrating both in a practical and
in a legal sense, that electric railways can wrest a goodly
portion of traffic from steam lines. But more than this,
it appears necessary that the courts should establish the
fact that electric street railways are a new development
in the way of transportation, which cannot be reduced
to the equality of steam roads. They are a distinct
creation, which owes its origin to public demand.

Viewed from an independent standpoint and broadly,
it certainly seems as though every advantage was
arrayed on the side of electric traction. With good
road beds and unsurpassed equipments, with running
time schedules practically equal to those of the steam
roads and with the great convenience of being able to
land one at his very door, it is hardly probable that the
travelling public will care to drop the new method for
the old. The Postoffice Department was quick to per-
ceive these disadvantages, and months since adopted the
electric service for the carrying of mails. Now, in the
case of the Haywards electric road, an express system
has been instituted for the carrying of all manner of
express matter, and as a result the mighty corporation
that has dominated the interests of California is evi-
dently determined to see just how far the public will
stand by the steam roads, but although the old service
was vastly improved by establishing more frequent trains
and by bettering the equipment, still it preferred the
electric road for local travel. Finally, the State Board
of Railroad Commissioners claims that the electric line
comes under its jurisdiction and under this contention
has requested the company to report to it. This the
latter has refused to do and at present it appears certain
that the question will find its way to the courts for set-
tlement. The outcome of the contention will exert a
far-reaching influence, the importance of which must
not be underestimated.

An insurance policy is a contract
drawn between two parties whereby the

REA|DNSU°RflNCERE first party> in return for proper consid-
policies. eration, agrees to insure to a pre-deter-
mined extent the party of the second
part against loss or damage by fire oc-
curring to specifically described property of the second
party. A policy is, in brief, a clearly drawn, specific
contract, the standard form of which has been not only
sustained by the courts time and again, but which has,
in the States of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jer-
sey and Wisconsin been drafted under legislative sur-
veillance. To disregard its stipulations, therefore, is to
violate the terms of a contract, and the astounding fact
is brought out during the adj ustment of practically every
fire, that shrewd, hard-headed business men will oft-
times so forget themselves as to enter into a firm and in-
violable contract involving the value of their entire busi-

ness without knowing the terms and conditions of tha
contract they are entering into. It is quite rational to
state that ordinarily the stipulations of a policy might
as well be printed in Greek for all the attention they re-
ceive.

A man insures much as he would buy a lottery
ticket. He does not honestly believe it will be of ser-
vice or return him any value ; still there is the chance
that it might do so, and when, as with insurance, the
work of a lifetime may be preserved from annihilation,
the policy is taken out purely as a means of self-preser-
vation. Insurance is the body guard of commerce, and
it is availed of purely in the idea of self-preservation.
This being borne in mind, is it not inconceivable that its
conditions should be slurred, if not ignored?

There is no disposition to review the terms of a
standard form of policy, as a single clause will empha-
size the joints. A clause reads : " This entire policy,
unless otherwise provided by agreement indorsed hereon
or added hereto, shall be void * * * if (any usage
or custom of trade or manufacture to the contrary not-
withstanding) there be kept, used, or allowed on the
above described premises, benzine, benzole, gasolene,
naphtha, or petroleum, or any of its products of greater
inflammability than kerosene oil of the United States
standard," etc. Every electric light and power plant in
the country has on hand and uses daily either gasolene
or naphtha, the presence of which on the premises inval-
idates all insurance thereon unless special permission for
its use has been granted, yet the instances where elec-
tric station managers have obtained permits for the use
of gasolene or naphtha, as provided in their contracts for
insurance, are extremely hard to find. In other words,
a vast majority of the electric stations of the country
are legally without insurance because of having invali-
dated their policies.

The tendency of the day appears to be toward spe-
cific insurance on the various items constituting the
property desired to be covered, but in following this out
it must be remembered that under an insurance polioy
insurance ends where segregation ends. An incident
recently occurred illustrating this point in a forcible
way. The receiver of an electric railway took out in-
surance covering a given amount " on engines, boilers
and their connections and settings," believing that he
had insured all the power plant equipment. The sta-
tion burned, and in settling the loss it was found that
among other items there was no insurance on belting,
which was practically the only appliance that was totally
ruined. In no way can belting be considered as a " con-
nection " or a "setting" of engines and boilers, hence
the insurance companies were under no liability for its
loss.

No one expects visitation by fire, but many re-
ceive it, so as an ounce of precaution, or more properly, of
business prudence, read your policies and understand
the conditions of the contract obligations you have
agreed to abide by in case of fire.

42

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol.

I, No.

TRANSMISSION LINES, by A. V. Abbott.

It is a great pleasure to have been given the oppor-
tunity of looking over the proof sheets of such a book
as A. V. Abbott's forthcoming volume on " Transmission
Lines." Recently a writer in one of the electrical jour-
nals complained that no book had been issued on engi-
neering problems of line construction, stating that the rea-
son was probably to be found in the fact that the con-
struction had been intrusted to men of practical experi-
ence rather than to theoretical designers — to linemen
rather than to engineers. This may, perhaps, have been
true in the construction of most telegraph pole lines,
or, it is said, may account for the greater or less disor-
ganization of telegraph service after every heavy wind-
storm, and undoubtedly explains the waste of thousands
of dollars in faulty underground construction by most of
the electric light and railroad companies throughout the
country. Mr. Abbott's book is the book of an engineer
and treats the problem as one of engineering.

The telephone companies were one of the first to
recognize the importance of erecting their pole lines in
such a manner that their service should be continuous
in spite of climatic conditions, and of doing their under-
ground construction for permanence rather than for sim-
ple cheapness. With the expiration of the Bell tele-
phone patents and the termination of the Western Union
contract we are bound to see a reorganization of both the
telephone and the telegraph business throughout the
country, and in the forthcoming contest we will un-
doubtedly see fruits of the efforts of the engineer where
the inventor and lineman have heretofore held sway.

The lead in the competition will be taken by the
company which will give the best service and at the least
cost, which means the best apparatus, the best lines and
the least repairing, all of which require the best and
most thoroughly trained engineers.

THE LAW OF INCORPORATED COMPANIES, by Allen
R. Foote and Chas. E. Everett, 3 vols., 8vo., 2930 pages, sheep.
Cincinnati, 1892-93. Price, $15.00 For sale by the Bancroft-
Whitney Company, San Francisco, and The Electrical Jour-
nal.

The trite adage that "Any man who is his own
lawyer, has a fool for a client," is not to be impeached,
but in no way will a belief in the precept preclude one
from posting himself regarding the general laws which
govern the business he is engaged in, and in fact, the
business manager of corporate interests, who does not
keep himself well informed as to fundamental legal
points, is remiss in a very important item. The
volumes presented expound the laws of the various
States and Territories of incorporated companies oper-
ating under municipal franchises, such as gas, electric
light and power, telephone, street railway and water
companies ; hence, they throw the light of legal knowl-
edge upon the proper methods of procedure in the
organizing, incorporation, powers, liabilities, franchises,
and general management of commercial interests that
are generally electrical in character. Of the author,
Mr. Allen E. Foote is well known to electrical interests,
because of his work on the " Economic Value of Elec-
tric Light and Power," his special agentship for electri-
cal industries in the United States census, and his mem-
bership of the American Institute of Electrical Engi-
neers. Aside from Mr. Chas. E. Everett, A. M., LL. B.,
who is editing attorney for the work, a resident attor-
ney in each State has been appointed as co-editors,
among whom are noted such prominent personages as
William A. Blount, of Florida ; Charles H. Aldrich, ex-

Solicitor General of the United States, of Illinois ; Chief
Justice Henry M. Blake, of Montana ; Anthony S. Keas-
bey, of New Jersey ; James W. Eaton, of New York,
and Judge George H. Williams, of Oregon. Indeed, the
names associated in the compilation of the work, alone,
guarantee its thoroughness and accuracy. It is, in
brief, a work that no lawyer or manager can afford to
be without.

ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSMISSION OF
POWER, by Wm. Cathorne Unwin, F. R. S., London, 1894.
Published by Longman, Green & Co.

The transmission of power to a considerable dis-
tance has only attracted much public attention in this
country since the introduction of electricity as a means
of energy transformation. In consequence, even our en-
gineers are in danger of forgetting that for many years
thousands of horse-power have been economically dis-
tributed through New York by the means of steam pipes
laid in the streets ; that hot water distribution was for a
time successful in Boston ; that natural gas differs but
little from a fuel gas, which it is possible to manufacture
cheaply, and that long distance hydraulic transmission
has furnished the power for mining millions of dollars
worth of gold in California. It is true that each of these
examples is the special solution of a special case, but it
is also true that such solutions are the essence of success-
ful engineering, and it is wise to look over the means
already at hand for the development and transmission of
power, before we decide that any one is necessarily suit-
able for a given case. The first impression on reading
Prof. Unwin's Harvard lecture on " The Development
and Transmission of Power " is one of surprise that an
engineer of high standing and wide attainments can be
found who seems to believe that power may be trans-
mitted in many cases more economically by the means of
high pressure water or compiessed air, than by the
means of electricity.

And again, one is surprised by the magnitude and
success of the power plants described, using those meth-
ods which are successfully installed in Europe. There is
much food for thought in all of this, and an engineer can
scarcely afford to neglect the consideration of many of
the advantages which this book calls to our attention,
present in other means of distribution, even when he
may be considering the installation of an electric plant.
The generation and distribution of power is here con-
sidered as a whole in a manner difficult to express more
completely in so compact a form ; and central station
engineers may find in the chapter on the " Condition of
Economy and Waste in Steam Engines," " The Cost of
Steam Power," and " The Storage of Energy," many of
the conditions clearly expressed, which are useful in de-
termining the necessary arrangement, and methods of
handling apparatus in order to reduce the great con-
sumption of coal in even our best equipped stations,
which has been reported by the committee of the Na-
tional Electric Light Association. In the treatment of
hydraulic motors one is impressed by the necessary in-
efficiency of the common hydraulic elevator, using, as it
does, the same amount of water for all loads, and it
seems a small wonder that the introduction of a success-
ful electric high speed elevator has been followed by a
very wide spread use. The problem of a small motor
which shall use hydraulic power economically, will
hinder greatly this type of transmission wherever the
cost of water pumped becomes a serious consideration,
as has been shown by the experience gained at both
Holyoke and Geneva. Even where water power is abun-
dant, and the cost of pumping low, there yet remains the
problem to be solved whether it is not finally more eco-

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

43

nomical to install electric machinery which will gener-
ate current directly available for other uses than the
development of power, and by the increased efficiency of
motors save much of the expense of mains and turbines
in the original water power installation.

The complete description given of telodynamic or
wire rope transmission confirms one in the belief that
save for small powers at short distances, such as from
one section of a works to another, there is little likeli-
hood that this method will be extensively used in the
future. It is unfortunate, however, that no mention is
made of the telodynamic transmission at the Calumet &
Hecla mine, in which a rope has been for many years
successfully run at 12,000 feet per minute. It is not
difficult to perceive that transmission by the means of
compressed air has received Prof. Unwin's greatest at-
tention and favor. We already know that very few
pneumatic plants have been displaced in mining, aud it
is an open secret that for deep mines the economy of
working is considerably greater with compressed air than
with electricity, in spite of the fact that neither the com-
pressors or air drills are often worked under the great-
est conditions of economy. The two chapters on the
" Transmission of Power by Compressed Air," and the
•' Theory of Air Transmission " discuss very carefully the
problems of the compressors, maius and motors, taking
into account all the subsidiary losses of energy which
are involved, and one is forced to the conclusion that a
high efficiency of transmission and distribution is easily
attained by the means of compressed air.

The economy of plant is not by any means so com-
pletely established, as it is difficult to acknowledge that
the cost of installation of machinery is less than with
electricity, and one would hardly let the statement go
unchallenged that one-fourth pound of coal per horse-
power hour used in reheaters, is an inconsiderable quan-
tity.

The distribution of power by steam aud gas is not
as fully treated as the cases already cited, the chapter on
steam distribution being taken almost entirely from Dr.
Emery's published writings, while the distribution of
heat by the means of exhaust steam is entirely neglected,
though this has become a very important adjunct to
many power stations installed in this country. In many
cases such a distribution is claimed to be of more value
to the financial economy of a station than the availabil-
ity of water for condensation.

"We are inclined also iu this country to look for a
substitution of fuel gas for natural gas in power trans-
mission, and it is disappointing to find in Prof. Unwin's
book so pessimistic a view taken of the future possibili-
ties of the economical production and distribution of pro-
ducer gas.

The two chapters on •' Electrical Transmission," aud
the chapter on the " Utilization of Niagara Falls " pos-
sess a peculiar interest on account of the position of Prof.
Unwin as one of the original advisers of the Niagara
Falls Power Company. The history of electrical power
transmission is only beginning to be written, and it is
painfully evident in this book that to the general engi-
neer there is but little data available for estimating the
cost of construction, maintenance and operation of an
electrical transmission plant. Prof. Unwin has hardly
advanced beyond the position of Prof. Forbes' lectures on
" Electrical Distribution," while in citing and applying
Kelvin's law he makes the serious common error of neg-
lecting the condition that the solution only holds for the
current being considered a constant. Comparing the
power delivered by the complete list of long distance
electrical power transmission given by Unwin, and the
capacity of the plants installed since his data was col-

lected, one is impressed with a very practical proof of
the efficiency of this system of power transmission.

In the chapter on " Niagara " we have a clear out-
line history of the undertaking, and it is a relief to read
an account of the Niagara Company, its commission and
engineers, which is free from the ill-feeling and hare1
names which have been used so generously in connec-
tion with this plant. The volume as a whole is a most
valuable addition to the literature of central station
construction and power distribution, and presents much
matter which no engineer can afford to neglect.

SPECIAL AGENTS' ELECTRICAL HANDBOOK, by A.

M. Schoen, Assc. Member A. I. E. E., Electrician South-Eastern
Tariff Association. Atlanta, Ga., 1894, 82 pages, 16mo, leather.
Illustrated. For sale by The Electrical Journal. Price, $1.00
each, post free, with liberal discounts for large orders.

This little book, which was designed for the guidance
of special agents for insurance companies and may be
read with advantage by all electricians, deals with elec-
tricity in its bearings upon insurance inspections. The
book was printed by the South-eastern Tariff Associa-
tion, and proved to be so popular that the small edition
issued was soon exhausted. The author, with the con-
sent of the association has transferred his copy-right to
The Spectator Company, which has issued a new edition,
enlarged and improved. Mr. Schoen has made many and
important additions to the Electrical Hand-Book: which
also contains numerous illustrations of electrical appli-
ances aud descriptions of imperfect work not in the first
edition, together with full instructions to enable in-
spectors to ascertain the hazards of all electrical ma-
chinery and appliances.

THE PACIFIC COAST GAS ASSOCIATION.

The third annual meeting of the Pacific Coast Gas
Association was held at San Francisco on July 16—17,
during which the following papers were read and fully
discussed: "The Economy of Small Works,'' John
Clement; " Welsh Anthracite Coal," John L. Howard;
" Treatment of our Customers," O. M. Gregory ; " One
Year's Experience with Wellsbach Burner," E. C. Ban-
dall; "Calcic Carbide," E. C. Jones; "Technical Gas
Analysis," J. Bryant Grimwood, "Producer Gas," H.
E. Adams.

The retiring President, Mr. C. W. Quilty, of San
Jose, also delivered an interesting address, after which
the business of the association was transacted. An im-
portant action taken was the selection of the American
Gas Light Journal as the official organ of the association,
in which publication the proceedings of the association
may first appear.

At the second days session the following officers
were elected for the ensuing year : President, E. C.
Jones; Vice-President, F. H. Eichbaum; Secretary and
Treasurer, John A. Britton. These officers will consti-
tute an Executive Committee and an Advisory Board.
The directors elected are as follows : O. M. Gregory,
San Jose; G. W. Wilson, Vallejo; C. O. G. Miller, San
Francisco; B. U. Steinman, Sacramento; and S. B. Cush-
ing, San Bafael.

The social features of the convention proved most
enjoyable, the first of which was the superb banquet
held at the new Delmouico on the evening of the first
day of the session. After adjournment on the second
day, there was an excursion on the bay aud luncheon
at the North Beach station of the San Francisco Gas
Light Company. In the evening a theater party was
held at the Columbia, which concluded the most enjoy-
able and profitable session yet held.

44

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. 2.

THE DENVER CONSOLIDATED TRAMWAY
COMPANY.

The Company of which the present system is the
outgrowth, was organized February 5, 1885, as the Den-
ver Electric aud Cable Railway Company, the earliest
effort of which was the operation of a conduit Sj'stem of
electric railway on Fifteenth street, in Denver, Col. Mr.

Fig. 2. — The Denver Consolidated Tramway Company

Rodney Curtis, now President of the Tramway Compa-
ny, was the first manager of the original company. Ou
May 4, 1886, the Tramway Company was organized and
shortly after built and placed in operation about twelve
miles of cable road, constituting the Broadway, Colfax
and Fifteenth Street lines, the latter of which displaced
the conduit electric line referred to. The South Broad-
way Electric line, which was put in operation on Christ-
mas day, 1889, was the first trolley road operated by this
company, and to-day the Tram-
way Company has in operation
eighteen lines, all being electric,
as the cable roads were abandoned
in 1893. These lines are the
Broadway, Colfax, Nineteenth,
Twenty-second, Stout, Lawrence,
South Tremont, Eleventh, Har-
mon, Pearl, University Park,
South Broadway, Park Hill, Ber-
keley, Rocky Mountain Lake,
Agate, Ashland and the Riverside
line, making in all 99.29 miles
of single track. The motors used
are of the Westinghouse, Thom-
son-Houston and General Electric
types.

The Grand Avenue Station, the
interior of which is shown in
Fig. 1, is mainly equipped with
type D62 T. H. railway generators,
there being also one 250-kilowatt
General Electric multipolar gen-
e"ator. All machines are driven

from a counter-shaft, operated in turn by a large twin
Corliss engine. Either of the railway lines can be oper-
ated from this plant.

It was at this station that one boiler of a battery of
twelve tubulars exploded on January 30th last, but the
accident, though serious, did not materially delay oper-
ations, as in a few days the plant was again in operation
by steam supplied from locomotives that had been run
up alongside the station The Blake-street Station, on

Blake street, near Thirty-sec-
ond, and which at that time
carried most of the load, con-
tains two General Electric
multipolar 500-kilowatt gener-
ators, and also one Westing-
house 500-kilowatt multipolar
generator. These dynamos are
each belted direct to Hamil-
ton Corliss, or Reynolds Corliss
engines, and together with the
necessary boilers, etc., consti-
tute the plant. There is, how-
ever, room for two more 500-
kilowatts units, and at present
it appears as though a 500-
kilowatt Siemens-Halske di-
rect connected generator would
be placed in the near future.
The switchboard is of white
marble, with phosphor bronze
trimmings, and so arranged
that it may be extended to
almost any capacity. Water
lightning arresters are used
behind the switchboard.

The Tramway Company has
several well-stocked car-barns,
and all of its equipment is of
excellent design and finish, both for summer and
winter travel, as will be apparent from the accom-
panying illustrations. Since its inception the road has
been under the superintendency of Mr. C. K. Durbin,
to whose ability the general superiority of the equip-
ment and service is largely due. Without doubt Den-
ver owes much of its growth and prosperity to
the enterprise of the Denver Consolidated Tramway
Company.

Fig. 1. — The Denver Consolidated Tramway Company.

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

ELECTRIC POWER TRANSMISSIONS— ACTUAL
AND PROSPECTIVE.

The month just closed will prove a memorial one in
electrical circles of the Pacific Coast, if not by the world,
not only because of the successful starting of the Folsom-
Sacramento plant, but because of the awarding of con-
tracts for the erection of other yet more interesting
power transmissions.

At 4 o'clock in the morning of July 13th, the people
of Sacramento were roused by
the boomiDg of 100 guns, the
signal which had been arranged
to announce the successful trans-
mission of power from the Fol-
som dam across the American
river to Sacramento river, a dis-
tance of 22£ miles. This
installation is in some respects
the most noteworthy ever un-
dertaken. It operates at an
initial potential of 11,000 volts,
its four generators have a capac-

45

Electric Company has secured the contract for transmitt-
ing 2,500 horse-power a distance of 14 miles from the
big Cottonwood dam to Salt Lake City, and, most im-
portant of all, that the same Company has accepted a
contract under which it agrees to deliver 1000 horse-
power in Fresno, Cal., from a fork of the San Joaquin,
thirty-five miles distant. This plant will probably be
in operation early in January. In Southern California
many ambitious projects are under way and will be in-
stalled if substantial backing is to effect it. Principal

Fig. 3 — Car Barns of the Denver Tramway Co

ity of 750 kilowatts or about 1000 horse-power each, and
are, therefore, the largest three-phase dynamos ever con-
structed. The entire equipment is, or when completed
will be in duplicate, and at present a double pole line
has been erected over the entire distance, but only one
generator is in use. The present condition of the plant
is largely temporary regardless of statements published
to the contrary and a description of it at this time
would be premature. But a single generator is running,
owing to the breaking of a temporary dam and the wet-
ing of a second dynamo that had been sent out. At
Sacramento, a 500 horse-power, three-phase motor is
driving two Edison bi-polor and one General Electric
street railway generator and also a 10 horse-power
motor for operating a toboggan slide that the Central
Electric Railway has erected in East Park. In fact, the
necessity for obtaining power for operating the Central
street railway system, which is owned by the Sacramen-
to Electric Power and Light Company, compelled the
starting up of the Folsom transmission before it was
ready. This statement of the actual condition of
affairs, however, does not detract in any way from the
value of the enterprise or its influence upon the develop-
ment of similar enterprises, but, to the contrary, enough
has been accomplished to satisfy the most exacting as to
the feasibility of the scheme and the thorough practicab-
ility of the methods and apparatus used.

Following close upon the starting of the Folsom
transmission comes the announcement recorded in the
news department of this paper, that the General

among these are the Power Develop-
ment Company, of Bakersfield, which
has issued specifications and is now
receiving propositions, as described else-
where.

Over topping all, however, is the
announcement just made of a gigantic
electric power transmission scheme in
which the organizers have very dextrous-
ly arranged so that they will have as
generating power the water from the
immense debris dam soon to be built at
Deguirie, six miles above Marysville on
the Yuba river. Acting upon the rec-
ommendation of the California Debris
Commission the last legislature appropriated $250,000
for the erection of a miuing debris dam at Deguirie,
which amount it is believed wjll undoubtedly be in-
creased by an appropriation of $ 350,000 from Congress.
The Deguirie dam will develop 70,000 horse-power, the

Fig. 4 — The Denver Tramway Co.

right to use which has been secured by Assemblyman
R. I. Thomas, of Nevada county, who states that he has
sufficient California capital behind him to complete the
plans.

46

THB 2L3CTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. 2.

Qleotro'JnsTzranos .

THE LESSONS OF A FIKE.

It appears from the report rendered by George
P. Low, appraiser for ths various insurance companies
represented in the fire which destroyed the power house
and car barn of the Seattle (Wash.) Consolidated Street
Railway Company early on the morning of June 20th
last, as described in the last issue of this publication,
that in addition to a large amount of supplies, the
burned station contained the following dynamos, with
their usual wiring and switchboard appurtenances :

7, Type D82, 80 horse power, Thomson-Houston,
500-volt railway generators.

2, 60-kilowatt Edison, 500-volt railway generators.

1, 60-kilowatt National, 500-volt railway generator.

2, 1000, 16-candle power, National alternating in-
candescent lighting dynamos, with exciters.

2, 50-light Western Electric arc lighting dynamos.

25, Electric street railway passenger cars and equip-
ments, and

1, Electric wood hauling car.

The list given represents practically every type of
dynamo-electric machinery used, as it includes 500-volt
direct current generators, 2200-volt alternating current
generators, and 2500-volt arc lighting dynamos. The
equipments of the electric cars, though serviceable,
were mostly of an inefficient type, no longer manufactured
or for sale, and which, therefore, would not find a ready
market if rebuilt. The seven D62 railway generators
and the electric cars and supplies named, which were the
property of the Seattle Consolidated Street Railway
Company, alone are considered in the report.

The dynamo and engine room was located on the
ground or basement floor, and as the fire originated or
burned most fiercely in the car barn, constituting the
upper story, the injury to the power plant was princi-
pally due to water, the falling of car equipments, etc.,
and of burning timbers and cars. From information
and evidences at hand, it is clear that the efforts of the
Fire Department were exerted in the direction of keep-
ing the fire from reaching the power plant as far as pos-
sible, in order to accomplish which, several powerful
streams were kept playing upon the dynamos, and in the
dynamo and engine room during the fire. As a result,
and although the building was entirely destroyed, the
dynamos were thoroughly soaked and buried in burned
debris. At the outset the prospect of saving the genera-
tors seemed remote, but it transpired that the method
adopti d by the Fire Department in playing continuous
streams of water upon the dynamos and in the dynamo
room, was to be highly commended.

The task of drying out and testing the generators,
continues the report, proved long and laborious, not
only because of the almost infinite care aud watchfulness
that must be exercised to detect any adverse symptom
that might develop during the process, but because of the
necessity of using the crude and more or less unsatisfac-
tory means at hand for prosecuting the work. On June
28th, three D62 generators had been dried out and
tested, and set up and put in operation under the direc-
tion and supervision of the Insurance Appraiser. The
third day following, a fourth generator was placed in
serviceable condition and put in operation, and on July
3rd, the Consolidated Company, through its proper rep-
resentatives, released the insurance companies from
further liability on these dynamos. The fifth dynamo
was placed in service July 4th, but the armatures for the
remaining two dynamos proved refractory, and despite

the most careful treatment they burned out ; the first
while under potential test, and the second on July 9th,
after having been in actual service but five hours the
previous day.

The Appraisers' report shows the sound values of
these seven D62 generators to be $10,600. The cost of
placing the same in service again in first-class condition,
and including an item of $400 for labor (which local
conditions rendered excessive) was $1,306.15, or 12.4 per
cent, of the sound value. Under ordinary conditions
regarding labor, this ratio would have been reduced to
almost 8 per cent.

The switchboard was totally consumed, except the
circuit-breakers, which were rewound and remounted at
a cost of $7.50 each, and are now in regular use. The
sound value of same was $240, and the damage $30.
The car equipments, electrical and other similar materi-
als and supplies were destroyed beyond reclaim, except
as junk.

Circumstances indicate that the fire originated
either through spontaneous combustion or incendiarism,
but certain it is that the fire was not due to electricity,
as, when first discovered, it was in a portion of the car
barn that was not lighted by or wired for electric light-
ing. It was the invariable practice to remove the trol-
ley wheel from the trolley wire when the cars were in
the barn, hence, there is no probability that the fire was
caused by defective electrical equipment in a car. The
floors were of rough 2-inch planking, with cracks be-
tween planks, the ceiling below was finished with £-inch
tongued and grooved stuff; the floor had been soaking
oil for three or four years, and although orders had been
given regarding the disposal, etc., of oily waste, it is
possible that such orders were disregarded and that
spontaneous combustion resulted therefrom. On the
other hand, the fire when first seen, was in the immedi-
ate vicinity of a doorway leading out of doors, and
which was never closed, as it had no door. Regardless
of orders to the contrary, the car barn was unoccupied
at the time of the fire, as the night barn foreman and
his helper had, in violation of instructions, taken out a
special car to take another employee home. The engi-
neer and dynamo tender were at their work in the en-
gine room ; it was about 1 o'clock in the morning, the
car barn was vacant, all its doors were wide open, and
an incendiary would have found a most favorable oppor-
tunity. No direct evidence of a£y nature is available,
hence, it is impossible to reach a conclusive opinion re-
garding the origin of the fire.

The report offers the following comments as the
principal lessons of the fire :

1. Railway generators are not susceptible to great
injury from water alone, if not in operation when wet-
ted,-^the average damage from such cause being, ap-
proximately, 12.5 per cent, of their value.

2. The injury to railway generators, by fire and
water together, will not ordinarily exceed approxi-
mately, 50 per cent, of their value, if the frames and
shafting remain sound.

3. The losses on switchboards and electrical sup-
plies of all descriptions, if burned, will be practically
total.

4. The losses on switchboards and electrical sup-
plies by water, will rarely exceed 25 per cent, of the
sound value of any article.

5. The water damage to car motors and equip-
ments, will generally average less than 20 per cent, of
their values.

6. The damage to car motors, etc., by fire, cannot
well be pre-estimated, because of the many forms of
motor equipments, and the fact that owing to recent

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

47

great advances iu the art of car motor building, the type
of motors now most in use are neither manufactured or
demanded. Forty per ceut. of the value would, how-
ever, ordiuarily be sufficient to rebuild the motor, pro-
vided the frame be sound.

7. A careful, competent and conscientious apraise-
ment is necessary on the damage to all electrical ma-
chinery injured by fire or water.

8. Since fires in electric power plants spread with
such astoundiug rapidity, sometimes, as in the present
instance, enveloping the entire structure in a very few
seconds, there appears to be emphatic need for the in-
troduction of reliable thermostatic alarms and auto-
matic sprinklers in such risks, in order, (1), that the
engineer may receive instant notification of fire, and
shut the plant down, and (2), that the damage may, so
far as is possible, be by water rather than by tire.

In conclusion, the report compliments Messrs. B. D.
Smalley and B. B. Broomell, for their cordial support iu
facilitating the work of the appraisers, and to Mr. \V.
J. Grambs, appraiser for the assured, for the" honorable
and fair-minded manner in which he conducted the ap-
praisement on the part of the Seattle Consolidated Rail-
way Company."

METALLIC) SODIUM PRECIPITATED BY ELEC-
TRIC LEAKAGE.

The eighth fire report of the Electrical Bureau of
the National Board of Fire Underwriters, cites an in-
teresting case, illustrating a new source of danger from
electric wires, which was recently brought to the notice
of the Boston Board of Fire Underwriters by the acci-
dental sounding of an automatic fire alarm in that city.
The following account is given by F. E. Cabot, Superin-
tendent :

" For some time past a slight smoke has been
noticed issuing from the casing about the electric light
wires in the basement, where they enter from the street.
When the insurance inspectors arrived and the casing
was removed, it was found that a peculiar substance had
accumulated about the wires which, when moistened
and struck with any hard substance, would give off
flashes of fire. All around this point the woodwork
was covered with a thick liquid which had dried in
places to a white substance resembling discolored salt,
and which was slippery to the touch and strongly cor-
rosive. The wood itself was soft and badly discolored.

" The deposit discovered about the wires proved,
upon analysis, to be mainly metallic sodium. Metallic
sodium is a substance very difficult to obtain except by
the aid of the electric current. It is exceedingly com-
bustible and unites so readily with water that its pres-
ence in a damp cellar would be impossible under ordi-
nary conditions. When it unites with water hydrogen
gas is given off and at the same time a considerable
amount of heat is generated. Under certain conditions
this heat would be sufficient to ignite the hydrogen gas.
Hydrogen gas and air will form an explosive mixture.
Hence, the greatest danger lies iu the liability of an ex-
plosion if the gas should become ignited.

" The explanation of the appearance in a damp cel-
lar of a substance so combustible and unstable in the
presence of moisture as metallic sodium, is given as fol-
lows : The metallic sodium was undoubtedly the prod-
uct of an electrolytic decomposition of impure sodium
hydrate. This sodium hydrate came from the cement
mortar used in laying the brick wall of the basement,
upon which the wires were supported. Some of the hy-
drate may have possibly worked its way through the
wall from the cement used in the foundation of the

paved street (Washington street), immediately adjacent.

" The electric current which caused the electrolytic
action was due to a leak inside the casing, from one of
the mains to another. The leak was produced by the
action of the sodium hydrate on the insulating covering
of the wires. This covering was what is known as
" Weather-proof Insulation," which consists of a cotton
braiding covered with tar. Such a material is readily
attacked by sodium hydrate and its insulating proper-
ties destroyed. Moreover, the sodium hydrate itself
furnishes a good path for the current when it has once
penetrated through the insulation.

" This case is especially interesting in connection
with several of the explosions which have occurred in
underground conduits, usually attributed to a leak in
the gas mains. In the London papers recently it has
boen suggested that metallic sodium may possibly have
had something to do with these explosions. This, how-
ever, appears to be the first instance in which the ap-
pearance of metallic sodium has been proved and a com-
plete explanation of an actual case given."

PERSONALS.

Dr. F. A. C. Perrine, of the Leland Stanford Junior
University, and Mrs. Perrine, are spending the summer
vacation on the Atlantic Coast.

Among the prominent guests of the recent meeting
of the Pacific Coast Gas Association were Mr. Walton
Clark, of Philadelphia, President of the American Gas
Light Association ; Mr. O. N. Guldlin, of Fort Wayne,
President of the Western Gas Construction Company ;
Mr. Daniel R. Russell, of St. Louis, of Barker, Russell &
Co., and Mr. E. P. Callender, of New York, publisher of
the American Gas Light Journal.

The University of Wisconsin has conferred the hon-
orary degree of LL.D. upon two men of national repu-
tation on account of their great services in the interest
of engineering and the industries. The first of these is
Edwin R. Reynolds, of Milwaukee, Wis., designer and
builder of the Reynolds Corliss engine. The degree was
conferred upon Mr. Reynolds in recognition of his posi-
tion as an expert of the highest rank and of interna-
tional authority as a steam engineer, and on account of
his remarkable ability and success as a designer and in-
ventor. The second is Don J. Whittemore, of Milwau-
kee, Wis., Chief Engineer of the Chicago, Milwaukee _
and St. Paul Railway. The degree was conferred upon'
him in recognition of his distinguished services in the
railway interests of the country.

VAN LEER EASTLAND— IN MEMORIAM.

A scroll was presented and ordered spread upon the
minutes of the annual meeting of the stockholders of the
Oakland Gas, Light and Heat Company, held on August
5th, as follows :

" In memoriam — Van Leer Eastland died September 8, 1894,
after twenty-seven years of active service in the field of gas in-
dustries and more than forty years after his first engaging in the
work of the San Francisco Gas, Light and Heat Company.

" His was a character worthy of emulation by all who sur-
vive him. Zealous in every just cause, loyal to all his trusts,
kindly in all his ways, honorable because honesty was his creed,
esteemed by those with whom he came in daily contact and re-
spected because of his manliness, it becomes this body, of which
he was an earnest member, to pause in its progress and say of
him as was said of that noble Roman, ' His life was gentle and
the elements so mixed in him that Nature might stand up and
say to all the world, ' This was a man.' "

48

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I No. 2.

^dhe ^rade.

In responding to advertisements in this publication, please
mention The Electrical Journal.

A DEPARTURE IN FUSING TRANSFORMERS.

The Type D transformer of the "Wagner Electric Man-
ufacturing Company marks a new departure in the
mechanical design of transformers. The difficulties at-
tending the use of primary fuse cutouts in the trans-
former box have led some manufacturers to entirely
abandon their use in this way, as it seemed impossible to
design a fuse block which would not arc at times when
the ' fuse blew on a bad short circuit. This arc would
in turn cause a short circuit between the two blocks, and
usually burned out the whole cutout as well as the
transformer. Appreciating the fact that the transformer
box is the best and most convenient place for the primary
fuse, the Wagner Company at last provided a cutout
which is claimed to mjet all possible requirements, with
none of the objections or weak points of fuse blocks here-
tofore used.

The first requirement is a fuse block which can never
arc and the second is to have the fuses so placed that
they will be separated entirely from each other and from
the transformer box, although supported by the latter.
The new "Wagner fuse pings are each carried in a sepa-
rate cast iron shell, attached simply by means of screws
to either side of the transformer box. The third re-
quirement is that fuses should be readily replaced wich-
out tools of any kind. Not only are no tools of any
kind required to remove the Wagner fuse plugs and re-

A Novel Transformer Fuse.

place fuses thereon, but there is no cover or lid of any
sort to remove or raise in order to reach them. The end
of the plug extends below the protecting shell, and three
or four turns of this knobbed end releases the plug,
which may then be withdrawn.

The plug and its insulating shell are not made, as
usual, of porcelain, which is very brittle and easily
broken, but are turned out of lava, as refractory a sub-
stance as any known, and which has about five times the
strength of porcelain. With the smallest size fuse plugs,
the Wagner Company claims to have repeatedly broken
a current of fifty amperes at five thousand volts, without
producing an arc, or which left any traces on the plug.
They, therefore guarantee these fuse plugs not to arc
with five thousand volts.

After securing this perfect fuse cutout, the Company

took up the matter of transformer installation, with a
view to reducing its cost by rendering the transformer
more convenient to hang and connect. By providing
cross arm and wall hooks to be bo ted to the transformer
lugs, the most convenient hanging of the box itself was
obtained and eventually it was determined to attach the
wall brackets ordinarily used to the transformer box,
thereby obviating the cost of brackets and the labor of
drilling walls, etc. The result was a combination of
transformer, box, primary fuses and service wire brackets,
in one compact piece of apparatus, as shown in the ac-
companying cuts.

The Sterling Supply Company, 54 Second street, San
Francisco, represents the Wagner Electric Manufacturing
Company on the Pacific Coast.

THE LUNDELL EXHAUST FAN.

The design of the Lundell motor lends itself most
readily in application to exhaust fan work. The motor,
being iron clad, is almost wholly enclosed and easily
permits of connection by radial arms, spider, or bolts to
any of the many forms of exhaust fans now to be found
in the market.

It has been the practice of manufacturers of exhaust
fans to supply a bearing in front as well as in the back
of the fan, but in the present application a shaft is
carried which may be horizontal or vertical, in two
bearings in the motor frame itself, not supporting the
shaft in any sense from the fan ring. This course in-
sures perfect alignment and noiseless running.

All Lundell exhaust fan outfits are made with hori-
zontal shafts, unless otherwise ordered, and are inva-
riably made so that the direction of the flow of air is
from the motor toward the fan. If it is desired to
operate the fan with a vertical shaft or to drive the air
through the fan and over the motor, it should be specif-
ically so stated in the order. With the standard hori-
zontal shaft fans, an adjustable thrust bearing, as shown
in cut, is provided. When the flow of air is desired con-
trary to the standard direction, a button and thrust
bearing is placed at the rear of the motor. In the hori-
zontal shaft fans, lubrication is effected in an oil recep-
tacle enclosing a step at the bottom of the shaft, and a
graphite or other self-lubricating bearing (never a grease-
cup or oil bearing) at the upper end of the shaft.

The Lundell dynamos and motors are handled by
Thos. Day & Co., San Francisco, the Pacific Coast agents
for the Interior Conduit and Insulation Company.

TOO GOOD TO SUPPRESS.

The A. A. Griffin Iron Company, through its West-
ern agents, Charles C. Moore & Co., is distributing a
neat brouchure, pointing out the advantages to be de-
rived from the use of Bundy return steam traps con-
nected on boilers, by means of which, the necessity for
running feed pumps is avoided. In the Bundy trap,
the waters of condensation, by their own weight, fur-
nish the valve operating power, for when the water in
the pear-shaped bowl over-balances the weight of the
ball, the bowl settles down into the frame, thereby open-
ing the valve in the live steam connection from top of
boiler or dome to trap, which equalizes the pressure on
both trap and boiler, when the water, of its own weight,
discharges into the boiler.

The conviction comes from reading the booklet, that
the Bundy steam trap is too good a thing to suppress. "

The Ferre Elastic Paint Company promises to make
an interesting display of its new insulating paints and
compounds during the Mechanic's Fair, soon to be held
at San Francisco.

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

49

THE LdY PRESS.

POPULAR REFLECTIONS OF THE CONDITION AND

PROSPECTS OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING"

ON THE PACIFIC COAST.

Plumas [County] has hundreds of ledges and plenty of ore
easily extracted, at points where steam or water power for min-
ing or milling purposes would be very expensive, possibly ren-
dering the working of such ledges impracticable, but which are
at such distance from streams capable of furnishing ample water
power for large electric plants, that, by means of wires varying
in length from one-half mile to five miles, electric power could
be transmitted up out of canyons, over mountains and to any
point desired. By means of such power, at once cheap and con-
venient, many of our low grade propositions, from $2 to $5 per
ton, could be operated at a handsome profit. In fact, to work
such mines successfully, cheap and reliable power is the great
desideratum.

Just below Spanish Creek bridge, about five miles north of
Quincy, is a most favorable point for the erection of an electric

The Ltjndell Exhaust Fan.

plant. Practically an unlimited amount of free water could be
obtained, and, with a small expenditure, a pressure of from 70
to 100 feet easily secured. Within three miles of that point, are
numerous quartz ledges carrying free gold. Some prospect as
high as $8 to $10 per ton, but most of them from $2 to $5 per ton.
If cheap and convenient power were supplied, all these proper-
ties would be developed and worked at a profit. Among the
mines within range of such an electric plant may be mentioned
the Bell, the Butterfly, the Kellogg, the Wormlev, the Lee &
Blakesley, the Orr, the Golden Gate, etc. Electric power from
this plant would be of especial value in working the Elizabeth-
town channel claims from which, at points where operated, such
quantities of large gold nuggets have been taken. This plant
could also be utilized in furnishing electric lights to the town of
Quincy — an item of no small interest.

The figures we have quoted and the facts mentioned as to
location of plant and the mines within range of it, all point out
a grand opportunity for capital seeking profitable investment.
The venture, from the start, would be a paying one. — Quincv
(Cal.) Bulletin, June 20th.

The whole State has cause to rejoice over the completion
and transfer to it of the immense electrical plant at Folsom.
The history of this great undertaking has been repeatedly pub-
lished and is familiar to all. The State is now in possession of
one of the greatest plants in the world for the generation of elec-
tricity, but of far greater value than that bare consideration is
the fact that to the extent of its applicability it is a complete so-
lution of the fuel problem, which alwavs has been a drawback
to the State.

The principle represented in the Folsom plant is the utiliza-
tion of the power held by the perennial streams that flow down
into the great valleys of the State from the Sierra Nevada. Thus

the waters of the American River, which is only one of a vast
number of these streams, are held by a dam and made to run
electrical generators. At present the application of this enor-
mous power is confined to Folsom, the Folsom prison and the
city of Sacramento, but this is only a beginning, both of the use
of electricity generated by this plant and of the utilization of the
power held by the Sierra streams.

The advent of this power is particularly welcome just now
when the natural disadvantages under which we labor on the
score of expensive coal is aggravated by the formation of a com-
bination for advancing its price. The Folsom plant is to be op-
erated at a cost which represents but a fraction of the expense of
coal required to generate an equal power. This matter has not
yet been determined, but it soon will be, and we are confident
that the revelation which it will make will be one of the strong-
est of conceivable incentives for pushing forward on new lines of
enterprise and development that will produce a complete revolu-
tion in some of the most important concerns of our people.- —
San Francisco Call, July 13th.

The new era opening for Sacramento by the installation and
successful working of the plant for the electric transmission of
power from Folsom is one upon which the whole State can con-
gratulate itself. If Sacramento can make use of the great power
from a mountain river other cities can do the same thing. Every
stream in California can be harnessed and a brilliant row of man-
ufacturing cities will spring up along the whole length of the
foothills of she Sierras.

Meanwhile Sacramento, as the pioneer in this part of the
State, deserves the praise of all who are interested in the develop-
ment of California. She has something now that is better than
the Capitol, and something that no constitutional amendment
can take away. The fuel question is solved, and with cheap
power Sacramento ought to become a center of manufactures. It
should be an Meal manufacturing place, too, with none of the
smoke, grime and cinders of the coal-burning purgatories, but
with fresh, clean, airy factories, in which the whirring electric
motors will be attended by cheerful operatives, and where indus-
try will not spoil the clear atmosphere for residence . We wel-
come the new Sacramento and wish it every success. — San Fran-
cisco Examiner, July 14th.

To communities that witnessed the successful introduction of
the trolley system in the West years ago, and who have had long
lines of city and suburban electric roads in practical operation so
far back that a younger generation has come upon earth and the
trolley system is regarded in the light of a back number, it is
amusing to read in the columns of the Philadelphia papers arti-
cles descriptive of the " new system " and the wonderful revolu-
tion it is creating in supplanting the "horse cars," and bringing
the suburban districts into town. Over a hundred years ago
Franklin gave the Philadelphians the key to lightning," but they
were slow to catch on, and the word became obsolete in that an-
cient place. Seattle could give those people some pointers on
trolleys. A Western city that can burn up a trolley system at 1
a. m. and have it in active operation at 8 a. m., can teach Phila-
delphia some things in the way of modern progress that would
convulse Benjamin in his grave, and make even the " horse cars"
laugh.— Seattle (Wash.) Past-Intelligence, June 25th.

The figures given in yesterday's Argus, showing the amazing
waste of money that has resulted from municipal ownership of
the electric light plant, ought to interest every lax-payer. One
of the reasons that taxes are high is because the city runs an
electric plant. In eight years one hundred thousand dollars have
been absolutely thrown away — absolutely, without question, for
the lights could have been purchased of private parties for the ex-
cess beyond that amount. That excess would have been upwards
of $8000 a year, and any private company would scramble for a
contract to" light Alameda for $8000 a year. Why cannot a com-
mon sense view be taken of the matter now? We have certainly
had experience enough. — Alameda (Cal.) Argus, June 26th.

An electric railroad connecting the principal towns and cities
of Southern California is a feasible project. Such a railroad
would monopolize the passenger traffic because it could trans-
port passengers as quickly and more cheaply than the steam
roads. Between Redlands and the sea there is enough power
going to waste to operate a thousand miles of railway. An elec-
tric railway from Redlands to Los Angeles is a project that is
already enlisting the attention of capital, and its consummation
is only a matter of time. Such a road would pay were it in
operation now. — Ontario (Cal ) Observer, June 10th.

It is worth noting that nearly all the predictions that elec-
tricians made ten years ag->, have either been fulfilled, or are
well on the way to such a result. — Oakland (Cal.) Tribune, June
29th.

50

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. 2.

On all sides Sacramento is now the recipient of congratula-
tions as the pioneer city in this new scheme of low priced power
and the utilization of water power to turn the wheels of indus-
try through the agency of transmitted electrical energy. But
we must keep in mind that these congratulations wdl be re-
peated for other cities and towns which secure similar advant-
ages by similar means. Thus, within three months electrical
power transmitted thirty-five miles will be introduced into
Fresno, and that place will then boast of the longest distance of
transmission in the world. Interests are becoming

fixed JU8t BOW that have long been fluctuating. Next year and
the next are to determine what are to be the large and prosper-
ous centers in this State, and those cities and towns that are not
to the forefront within that period will be likely to remain far in
the rear for many years. — Sacramento (Cal.) Record-Union,
July 15th.

The rapid development of electrical engineering bids fair to
greatly aid California. Hitherto the water power of the State
has been little used owing to the fact that in most localities
where it exists it is practically unavailable by the old methods,
which required its utilization on the spot, or by which its dis-
tant employment was made extremely costly. In some in-
stances water was carried several miles in pipes or ditches, for
the purpose of operating water wheels, but this manner of
utilization restricted its employment within comparatively
narrow limits, and could only be adopted where the power was
applied at an altitude lower than that of the source of the
water. ' Now, however, the electrical works at Folsom,

on the American River, are partially in operation, and are
supplying a thousand horse-power. * * ' Like utilization of
water power for long-distance transmission of electricity will
eventually be made on the Upper Sacramento, the Feather,
Yuba, Hear, Mokelumne, Russian and other rivers. It is well
within the limits of possibility that electric power shall some
day be brought to this city from the streams of the Sierra or the
Coast Range, and it would seem that with such an unlimited
power at command, and at trifling cost, the development of
manufacturing in the district thus favored should go forward
rapidly. — San Francisco News-Letter, June 6th.

JYeiDs of the Jffonth.

LITIQ/ITION.

Ballard, Wash.— The Mayor has received a summons from
George F. Gund in a suit for $6200 against the city for breach of
contract in the purchase of an electric light system.

Tacoha, Wash. — Efforts are being made to compromise the
$1,000,000 suit brought against the Tacoma Light and Water
Company by the city to recover the money paid the company
for the plant now held by the city.

Seattle, Wash —Federal Judge Hanford has set aside a ver-
dict which Howard Baker secured against the Western Union
Telegraph Company for ifiiOOO because of an error made in a
cablegram in making h s name appear " Barker," on the ground
that the damages awarded are excessive. 'J he matter will now
undoubtedly be compromised.

Los Anciei.es, Cal.— Western Union Telegraph Company
has tiled a complaint in equity against the Los Angeles Lighting
Company for an injunction to restrain the defendant from putting
up a line of poles and erecting electric wires thereon in line with
the pole hues of the plaintiff on Second and Alameda streets
The telegraph company avers that induction would so distort
the signals on the duplex and quadruples instruments as to
render their signals liable to serious interference.

QOnnMNIQdTION.

Oakland, Cal— The City Council has advertised for bids for
a telegraph and telephone franchise.

.1 v. K.soNvn.LE, Oit.-The new telephone line between here
and < rescent ( lty, Cal , has been completed.

Portland, Or.— The Columbia Telephone Company is
busily erecting poles for its new system in this city.

San Francisco.— The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Com-
pany is placing its wires underground in the Mission.

l'KEsrorr, A.riZ -Work is being prosecuted on 'a telephone
line o haparrel via Lynx Creek Camp. Lines are also to be
built to Jerome and all important mining camps in the country

Sab Francisco.— The Sunsel Telep] e and Telegraph Com-
pany has purchased 100 cells of chloride battery for operating
Kxpress " systems of telephone exchanges in various cities of

San Jose, Cal. — The Council has adopted a resolution that
it is the intention to grant a franchise authorizing the construc-
tion of a telephone and telegraph system, and inviting proposals
for the same.

Spokane, Wash. — The Spokane Terminal Railway has been
incorporated, and under its articles it has authority to maintain
telegraph and telephone lines or contract with telephone com-
panies for the construction and maintenance of such lines.

Salt Lake City, Utah. — The Rocky Mountain Bell Tele-
phone Company and the Salt Lake and Ogden Gas and Electric
Light Company have consummated an agreement by which
both companies will utilize the same poles whenever possible.

San Jose, Cal. — The California Telephone and Construction
Company, by its Secretary, Walter M. Field, has applied for a
telephone franchise. The petition states that the Columbia Tele-
phone and the Smith system are to be used and the company has
400 subscribers .

Helena, Mont —The Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Com-
pany has practically completed its long distance line between
this city and Great Falls, a distance of about 100 miles. New
lines have also been erected between Helena and Butte, and be-
tween Butte and Basin.

Walla Walla, Wash. — The offices of the train dispatchers
on the Washington division of the O. R. & N. Company have been
moved from Walla Walla to Starbuck. At present, under W. E.
Borden as chief, the office handles all trains between Pendleton
and Umatilla and Spokane, and branches from Walla Walla, and
also transact all the telegraph business pertaining to the Star-
buck shops. -

Sacramento, Cal.— The Capital Telephone and Telegraph
Company has practically completed the poling and wiring of this
city for its new exchange, which will have a capacity of about
1,000 subscribers. Metallic circuits of No. 12 bare copper wire
are used throughout, and the Columbia transmitter has been
adopted. V. J. Mayo is electrician and E. Severance is manager
of the Company.

San Francisco, Cal.— Walter Francis Burns of the Stand-
ard Telephone Company of New York, states that his company
has obtained the exclusive franchise for the placing of a system
of long distance telephones in Japan. The first operations will
be in the cities of Tokio and Yokohama, after which lines will be
extended all over the empire. Mr. Burns sailed for Japan on
July 23d, and was preceded by a number of men to be employed
in the construction of the system.

ILUmiNdTION.

Chico, Cal.— H. H. Clark, of Santa Cruz, has been granted
a franchise for an electric light plant.

Los Angeles, Cal.— E. E. Peck has been granted a franchise
for an electric lighting, power and heating plant.

Oroville, Cal.— Max Marks has been granted an electric
light and power franchise in this city and vicinity.

San Francisco.— The Mutual Electric Light Company is lay-
ing redwood conduits throughout the business section of the city.

Waterloo, Or.— An incandescent plant is to be placed in the
woolen mills. Capacity, 300 lights.

Berkeley, Cal.— The local electric light company has in-
stalled a new 200 h. p. Corliss engine.

Pasadena, Cal.— The Electric Light and Power Company
has moved its offices to the Banning Block.

i. ^NmA,-PAI"— A 7°-light incandescent plant is being installed
by 0. W. I ox in the woolen mill in East Napa.

i .■?H(E^I?'^?T"The Electric Light Company has ordered an
additional 1,000-hght General Electric generator.

Hamilton, Mont.— It is expected that the new electric light
plant will be completed during the present month.

. Wallace, Idaho.— General M. C Moore has purchased an Ed-
ison 110-hght dynamo to be used for an isolated plant.

Salt Lake City, Utah.— The Citizens' Electric Light Com-
pany are erecting their pole lines throughout the city,

i ,N.APA'pAL-—L.-^rothwell has been awarded a franchise for
electric lighting privileges from the Asylum to Calistoga.

Olympia Wash.— The new State Capitol building will be
equipped with an electric lighting plant and an electric elevator.

Salt Lake, UrAii.-The Salt Lake Irrigation, Light and
dent pany has been incorporated with W. P. Noble, Presi-

K»0?RTLI'a\CaJC~$ 60;kil°watt Westinghouse alternator has
been ordered by the Oroville Gas, Electric Light and Power Com-
ir...y*

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

5i

South Bend, Wash. — Arrangements have been concluded by
which C. S. D. Sale will continue to operate the electric light
plant.

Alyarado, Cal. — A20-kilowatt Siemens-Halske incandescent
lighting dynamo and plant has been ordered for the Alvarado
Sugar Refinery.

Eugene, Or. — The Board of Regents of the State University
has concluded to light the University buildings and dormitory
with gasoline gas.

Weaverville, Cal. — The Weaverville Electric Light Com-
pany has ordered two new dynamos, which will double the ca-
pacity of the plant.

Redlands, Cal. — The Light and Power Company is soon to
extend its pole line from this city to the Asylum, a distance of
about seven miles.

Orange, Cal. — The Santa Ana Gas an 1 Electric Light Com-
pany has asked for an exclusive franchise over all streets for elec-
tric lighting purposes.

Redlands, Cal. — The Redlands Light and Power Company
has secured the contract for the electric lighting in the Highlands
Asylum at $375 per month.

San Leandro, Cal. — The matter of installing a municipal
electric lighting plant has been referred to Trustees Eber, Cary
and Downie for consideration.

Spokane, Wash. — The Consumers' Light and Power Com-
pany, by Simon Oppenheimer, President, has received an elec-
tric lighting and power franchise.

Quincy, Cal. — Dr. R. Heidrich and F. Gausner, of San Jose,
are conferring with Judge Goodwin regarding the advisability of
putting in an electric light and power plant.

Eerndale, Cal. — An electric light plant is desired here, and
Oluff Andreason has made a liberal offer to operate the same.
The plant complete would cost less than $5,000.

Antioch, Cal. — The Ledger states that CM. Belshaw is
seriously considering the proposition of putting in an electric
light plant in connection with the water works.

South San Francisco. — Miller & Lux have ordered a 150-
light 110-volt chloride battery to supplement the incandescent
lighting plant of their cold storage warehouses .

San Francisco. — The local papers announce that the electric
light and power plant proposed to be placed by the San Francisco
Gas Light Company, will be driven by gas engines.

Jackson, Cal. — B. E. Letang, of the Jackson Gas Works,
has fully decided to put up an electric light plant this Fall and
have it in running order by the beginning of winter.

Alameda, Cal — The city has accepted the arc and incan-
descent dynamos purchased from the Westinghouse Electric &
Manufacturing Company, and has cancelled the bonds given.

Los Angeles, Cal. — W. L. Richardson has applied for an
electric light and power franchise, and the Board of Supervisors
has advertised for bids for same to be received until August
7th.

San Francisco. — E. C. Jones, engineer for the San Francisco
Gas Light Company, read a paper illustrated by practical exper-
iments, on " Calcium Carbide," before the last meeting of the
Academy of Sciences.

Phcs nix, Ariz. — The Phoenix Electric Light and Fuel Com-
pany has received and is erecting a 1,500-light monocyclic genera-
tor and two new boilers, having a capacity of 250 h. p. to supple-
ment its present plant.

Salt Lake City, Utah. — All machinery for the power
house and the supplies necessary for the construction of the
new plant of the Citizens' Electric Light Company, have been
shipped from the East.

San Francisco, Cal. — The new Cliff House, now being
erected on the site of the old Cliff House, is being wired with
the conduit system, using the flexible tubing of the American
Circular Loom Company.

San Francisco. — Fifty-eight 1,000-ampere-hour chloride ac-
cumulator cells are to be placed in the Safe Deposit building.
Regulation will be effected by the " booster" system of the Elec-
tric Storage Battery Company.

San Jose, Cal.— The San Jose Light and Power Company, at
the annual meeting of stockholders on June 21st, elected C. W.
Quilty, President; Uriah Wood, Vice-President; W.W. Gillespie,
Secretary; and C. T. Ryland, Treasurer,

San Francisco. — Bids have been received for the electric
wiring of the Parrott building for 4,000 incandescent and 400 arc
lamps. The lowest bid received was that of E.-li. Forst for $32,-
9t>4, and to whom the contract was awarded.

San Rafael, Cal. — The Electrical Construction' and Repair
Company, of San Francisco, has built the pole line from this
city to Mill Valley, and will connect up all Mill Valley circuits
thereto for the San Rafael Gas and Electric Light Company. .,

Logan, Utah — The Hercules Power Company has com-
pleted its dam across the Logan River in Logan Canyon, and it
is said will soon purchase turbines and electrical machinery for
transmitting light and power to this city and surrounding towns.

Ventura, Cal. — The people of Ventura have voted for the
issuance of $130,000 bonds, of which $106,500 is for the purchase
of the Santa Ana Water Works and $23,500 is for the purchase
of the arc light system of the Ventura Land and Power Com-
pany.

Seattle, Wash. — The Third Street and Suburban Company
has erected a power house adjoining that of the Seattle Steam,
Heat and Power Company, on West street, in which are
placed the dynamos for operating the lighting circuits of the
Company.

Tacoma, Wash. — Mayor Orr has vetoed the ordinance pro-
posing to reduce the price of gas as sold by the Tacoma Gas and
Electric Company, on the ground that the present rates of $2 a
thousand for lighting purposes and $1.75 for heating purposes are
reasonable.

Santa Cruz, Cal. — The Santa Cruz Electric Light and Power
Company is driving a 1,000-light alternator by means of an Otto
gas engine. The plant is operating satisfactorily, and two more
similar double cylinder gas engines will probably soon be placed,
displacing the use of steam.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Park Commissioners, in response
to many imperative demands, are considering ways and means
for lighting the park drives. It is probable that material assist-
ance towards defraying the cost will be received from bicycling
clubs and livery stable people.

Spokane, Wash. — The County Commissioners have aban-
doned the idea of erecting an isolated electric lighting plant in
the new Court House, the reason assigned being that the cur-
rent can be bought from central stations more cheaply than it
can be produced in an isolated plant.

Prescott, Ariz. — The Prescott Electric Light Company has
been incorporated with a capital stock of $100,000. President
and Treasurer, Frank L. Wright ; General Manager, J. D. Moore ;
Secretary, F. A. Cole ; who, with R. H. Burmister and William
E. Hazeltine, constitute the Board of Directors.

San Jose, Cal. — The Electric Improvement Company has con-
cluded to meet the competition of the San Jose Light and Power
Company at all points, and is therefore engaged in laying mains
preparatory to the erection of a gas plant. It is probable that a
hard gas war will follow the electric light war that has waged sc
long between these companies.

Leadville, Col. — Some of the stockholders of the Denver
Consolidated Electric Company, among whom are E. W. Rol-
lins, Jonn Poole and Colonel Goddell, have organized a light and
power company here. The plant will be operated by water
power, or will use some multi-phase system. C. E. Doolittle
has been engaged to superintend the designing and construction
of the plant.

Oakland, Cal. — The stockholders of the Oakland Gas, Light
and Heat Company, at their annual meeting held on August
5th, unanimously re-elected the old Board of Directors, consist-
ing of Joseph P.Eastland, John W. Coleman, D E. Martin,
John T. Wright and James Moffitt. Mr. Eastland was elected
President, Mr. Coleman Vice-President, and John A. Britton
Secretary and Treasurer.

Phcenix, Ariz. — The Phoenix Light and Fuel Company and
the East End Electric Light Company, known as the Gardiner
plant, have effected a combination to go into effect on August
18th. The Gardiner plant will be removed to the works of the
other Company on First avenue and an advance in rates will un-
doubtedly result, as competition has been such that the Compa-
nies have heretofore been operating at a loss.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Edison Light and Power Company,
at its fourth annual meeting, held July 15th, elected J. B. Stet-
son, W. F. Whittier, W. E. Brown, Gustav Sutro, L. P. Drexler,
C. E. Green and John J. Valentine as Directors, after which the
Directors elected the following officers : President, J. B. Stetson :
Vice-President, W. Brown ; J. E. Green, Secretary and Manager;
William Angus, Assistant Secretary; R.J. Davis, Assistant Man-
ager.

52

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. 2.

TSdNSrORTdTION.

Saratoga, Wvo. — An electric railway is projected between
this place and'Wiilcott, a distance of twenty-two miles.

Salem, Or,. — The Davidson Park branch line of the Salem
Motor Company has been completed and is in operation.

Whictier, Cal. — The sum of $7050 has been subscribed
towards' building an electric railway in this place and vicinity.

Seattle, Wash. — David Bruce has been appointed Superin-
tendent of the Union Trunk lines vice E. B. Hussey, resigned.
•' Antioch, Cal. — C. M. Belshaw is considering the advisability
of constructing an electric railway here.

Phosnix, Ariz. — The Phoenix Electric Railway Company has
purchased an additional 25 h. p. Westinghouse railway equip-
ment.

San Pedro, Cal. — A ship-load of cedar poles for the Los An-
geles and Santa Monica Electric Road has arrived from Everett,
Wash.

Seattle, Wash. — Fifteen " G: E. 800 " railway equipments
have been ordered by the Seattle Consolidated Street Railway
Company,

Galt, Cal. — The Work of grading for the electric road be-
tween Stockton and Lodi is progressing rapidly, and the road will
be completed within twelve weeks.

Seattle, Wash. — Sixty-seven miles of street-car lines, both
electric and cable, are used by the Postoffice Department in
this city for the transportation of mail.

San Diego, Cal. — It is reported that George Kerper, owner
of the property of the cable road, proposes to start up the line
after having equipped it with the trolley.

Seattle, Wash. — The Seattle Consolidated Street Railway
Company has decided to build a fire-proof station and car barn
on the site of the station recently burned.

Seattle, Wash. — F. L. Dame has resigned the general man-
agership of the Consolidated Street Railway Company and S. L.
Shufiieton has been appointed his successor.

San Francisco. — Orders have been issued to conductors of
the Market-street Railway Company's system to issue transfers
to parallel lines of the Company in case of stoppage.

San Franctsco, Cal. — The trolley will soon supplant the cable
on the Ellis street line of the Market-street Railway Company,
and the cable road on Oak street will be the next to go.

Hermosillo, Mexico. — It is believed that the Government
of Mexico has granted H. T. Richards a concession to build a
street railway here, to be operated by horses or electricity.

San Francisco, Cal. — Four bids have been received for the
power plant for the Sutro-street Railway, and it is said that the
road will be in operation to the Sutro Baths by October 1st.

Tacoma, Wash. — The power house for the Fern Hill and
Puyallup branch of the Tacoma Traction Company is completed
and is now operating all cars on the Edison and Puyallup lines.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The Los Angeles Railway Company,
owning forty-seven miles of street railroad, proposes to reorganize
its system, and will undoubtedly change its cable lines to electric.

Galt, Cal. — The Gazette is of the opinion that the people of
Gait should reach out and offer some inducement for the intro-
duction of the electric power and electric transportation for their
town.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Market-street Railway Company
has obtained a franchise for the construction of an electric line
through Sunnyside, Corbett and Ocean avenues to the new race-
track.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Market-street Railway Company
is to equip the horse car line at present running on Tenth street
and Potrero avenue to the Potrero and South San Francisco with
the trolley.

Tacoma, Wash, — The City Park Raihvay Company will build
a 2000-foot extension into Point Defiance Park at once, as all
papers with the Park Commissioners have been signed and the
contracts awarded.

Seattle, Wash. — Two cars on the West Street and North
End Electric Railway, running between this city and Ballard,
have been running as scheduled for months with a daily mileage
of 225 mileage each.

Boise City, Idaho. — The Boise Rapid Transit Company en-
joys the distinction of being an electric railway company that is
able to run a power house and operate a single car, and j'et make
satisfactory dividends.

Oakland, Cal. — The Oakland Consolidated Street Railway
Company has contracted with the Walker Electric Manufactur-
ing Company for the purchase of a 400-kilowatt Walker railway
generator, to be driven by rope transmission.

St. Helena, Cal — A franchise for the construction of an
electric railway along Main street, and for the erection and opera-
tion of telephone, telegraph and electric light lines will be sold
on August 13th.

Shanghai, China. — L. S. J. Hunt, formerly owner of the
Post-Intelligencer of Seattle, has secured from the Shanghai
Council the right to construct an electric street car system at a
cost of $2,000,000 in gold.

Sacramento, Cat. — L. T. Hatfield has been awarded a fran-
chise to construct and operate an electric railway on V street,
which is believed to be for the recently organized Sacramento,
Fairoaks and Orangevale Electric Railway Company.

Portland, Or. — The Vancouver cars are running through
from the intersection of Second and Washington streets, Port-
land, to the Vancouver ferry landing on the Columbia River, en-
abling passengers to make the entire trip for one fare.

San Francisco. — C. M. Bridges is exhibiting a model of an
underground conduit electric railway system in the History
Building, in which the working equivalent of the trolley wire is
on the car, while the equivalent of the trolley is in the conduit.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Sutter-street Railroad Company
has decided to extend its Pacific avenue line by building an elec-
tric road out Pacific avenue from the terminus of the cable
line at Devisadero street to Walnut street through Richmond to
the Park.

Los Angeles, Cal. — Notice of sale of franchise has been pub-
lished for an electric railway to run from the intersection of
Freeman street with Bush street, thence southwesterly on Bush
street to Hoover, thence south on Hoover street to Forrester ave-
nue. Bids must be in by August 19th.

Oakland, Cal. — The Southern Pacific Company is waging a
hot fight against the Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards Elec-
tric Railway Company since the latter has established an express
service for the carrying of parcels, etc., between San Francisco,
Haywards and the way towns along the line.

Sacramento, Cal. — The Sacramento, Fairoaks and Orange-
vale Electric Railway has been organized to build a line, prefer-
ably along the north bank of the American River from Orange-
vale and Folsom to this city. The road will undoubtedly be oper-
ated by power from the plant of the Electric Power and Light
Company.

Santa Barbara, Cal. — The Santa Barbara Consolidated
Electric Company, proposing to construct, acquire, operate and
maintain electric railways in the county of Santa Barbara, has
been incorporated with a capital stock of $200,000, of which $40,-
000 is subscribed. Its President is.S. J. Keese, a well-known
electrical engineer of Los Angeles.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Market-street Railway Company
has commenced work on its new electric power house to be
erected on the corner of Bryant and Alameda streets. When
finished, it will be the largest electric plant in the country, and
will be used to drive all the electric street-car lines belonging to
the Market-street system. The power-house of the Metropolitan
Railroad will then be abandoned.

Iron Mountain, Cal. — The Iron Mountain Railway Compa-
ny, of Shasta County, has been incorporated with Alfred Fellows
and Charles W. Fielding, of England, and L. B. Parrott, C. O.
Eels and M. M. O'Shaugnessy as Directors. The Company pro-
poses to build a steam or electric railroad from the Iron Mountain
Mine to the Spring Creek crossing, on the California and Oregon
Railroad, a distance of 12}4 miles, thence to Popley Station.

Tacoma, Wash. — A bill of sale has been filed conveying the
property of the Point Defiance-street Railway Company to the
City Park Railway Company for $163,000. Shortly after the
sale the City Park Railway Company filed a mortgage on the
property for $163,000 to S. Z. Mitchell at six per cent, per an-
num, one note being for $13,000, and thirty for $5,000 each, all
of them payable on demand at the office of the Old Colony Trust
Company, of Boston.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The new electric system of the Los An-
geles Traction Company will be in operation by September 1st.
The road is being constructed in a substantial manner with sixty-
pound rails, the overhead wiring, etc., is completed, and the en-
tire equipment will be modern . The road is to run from the
Santa Fe depot to Hoover street, the line of construction being
as follows: From the depot up Third to Hill, to Eighth, to Pearl,
to Eleventh, to Bush, to Hoover.

San Francisco, Cal. — Contracts for equipments for the
Sutro Electric Railroad have been awarded as follows : To the
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, 6, type 12A
25 h. p. equipments; to the Walker Manufacturing Company,
fifteen 25 h. p. equipments ; to the General Electric Company'
six " G. E. 800 " equipments, also one 400-kilowatt, and one 200-
kilowatt railway generators, to be direct connected to Fulton
Iron Works engines.

August, 1895.]

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

53

Los Angeles, Oal.-~ Most of the material for the extension
of the Pasadena and Pacific Electric Railway, from this city to
Santa Monica, is on the ground, and the work of construction
will begin about September 1st, or as soon as the right-cf-way
and franchise matters can be settled. The extension will be
eighteen miles long and double-tracked throughout. Two
dynamos for the Santa Monica division are here. They have a
capacity of 350 and 450 h. p. respectively. Oil is to be used as
fuel.

Los Angei.es, Cal. — Articles of incorporation have been
filed by the Commonwealth Trust Company of Los Angeles
county, formed f_r the purpose of obtaining rights of way, sub-
scriptions, donations, etc., for the construction of a railway from
Victor to Hesperia, San Bernardino county, through Antelope
Valley and Tejon Pass, Kern county, to Bakersfield, to be oper-
ated by steam or electricity. The directors are T. W. Haskins,
C. It. Wells, Nathan Cole, Jr., E. S. Mead, A. C. Sprague, C. A.
Richey and S. C. Wilcox.

Auburn, Cal. — Messrs. Hartley & Reynolds, well-known
mining men, have applied for an electric street railway franchise
to be built on the main thoroughfare from the station to lower
Auburn. The projectors intend to have the road in operation by
next winter, and whenever business will justify, will extend the
line. Power will probably be purchased from the Ball Electric
Light Company, and the accepted franchise calls for the comple-
tion of the road within one year.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Presidio and Ferries Railway
Company, operating a horse car line from the ferries to the inter-
section of Montgomery avenue and Montgomery street, and a
cable road thence via Montgomery avenue and Union street to
the Presidio, is to reconstruct its road-bed, and equip the line as
an electric railway. This is one of the most hilly railways in the
city, encountering grades as high as 18)2' per cent., but excessive
grades will be equipped with auxiliary cables.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Washburn Moen Manufacturing
Company has acquired the business and plant of the Califor-
nia Wire Works, will hereafter operate the same in con-
junction with their factories at Worcester, Mass., and Wau-
kegan, 111. With the fine rope and cable machinery and trained
mechanics of the California Wire Works they claim to be pre-
pared to manufacture and promptly supply the strongest and
most serviceable wire rope and cables made in the world.

Seattle, Wash. — The franchise of the Consolidated Street
Railway Company has been renewed, with several modifications,
principal among which are that from the years 1900 to 1909 in-
clusive, the company is to pay the city 1 per cent, of the gross
receipts, and from 1910 to 1944 inclusive, the company is to pay 2
per cent. The new franchise requires also that when the city
shall have a population of 125,000, the company shall be required
to issue transfers to cross lines, and to accept "tickets from such
cross lines.

Hay-wards, Cal. — E. P. Vandercook has been granted a
franchise for an electric road from Oakland to Livermore. The
proposed road is to start from Lynde street and Peralta avenue,
Oakland, and will strike San Leandro ; thence along the county
road from San Leandro by the way of Lake Chabot to Castro
Vailey, following said road to its intersection with the road from
Haywards to Moraga Valley ; thence along said road to the Hay-
wards and Dublin road to the town of Dublin, and from there to
the town of Livermore.

San Francisco, Cal. — The State Railroad Commission, act-
ing under a decision of the Attorney General to the effect that all
roads, whether steam or electric, carrying freight must report to
the Railroad Commission, has ordered the San Francisco and San
Mateo Electric Railway Company to report to it, because the road
owns and operates a funeral car. and carries bodies to the Holy
Cross Cemetery for interment. The road has refused to report as
ordered, and the lawyers are trying to decide whether a hauling
dead body is freight or passenger traffic.

. San Francisco. — The first two units of the eight 400-kilowatt
Siemens-Halske generators for the Market-street Railway Com-
pany will be in operation by the middle of August. When com-
pleted the plant will consist of four vertical triple expansion.
Union Iron Works engines, running at 145 revolutions per min-
ute at an initial pressure of 175 pounds of steam, each engine be-
ing direct connected to two 400-kilowatt dynamos. The Union
Iron Works is installing 5,000 horse-power of water tube boilers
of its own manufacture in the Bryant-street power house.

Tacoma, Wash. — Postmaster Case has rendered a report to
the Postofnce Department in regard to mail service on electric
roads in this city. The report shows that the following lines
are used: Tacoma Railway and Motor Company, city lines-
34.80 miles, carrier service to Steilacoom, 13.25 miles, mail con-
tract; Tacoma Traction Companj', to Midland, 9.38 miles, mail
contract; Tacoma Traction Company, to Edison Junction, 5
miles, carrier service ; City Park Railway, to Smelter, 7.60 miles,
carrier service. The total number of miles used daily by the
postal service is therefore 70.3 miles.

San Francisco, Cal. — The West Shore Railroad Company
has been incorporated for the purpose of constructing and operat-
ing a double or single track railroad by steam, electricity or other
motive power, through San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties from
San Francisco to Santa Cruz. The estimated length of the road
is eighty miles, and the capital stock is $2,000,000, of which $88,-
000 has been subscribed. The Directors are C. M. Sanger, of San
Leandro, Behrend Joos', of San Francisco, Robert S. Thornton,
of Colma, John W. Eisenhuth, of San Francisco, and Louis Dun-
and, of San Rafael.

TRANSMISSION.

Salinas, Cal. — A. L. Burbank has secured the right of way
for water mains from the Arroyo Seco, the object being to secure
water for King City and for the installation of an electric trans-
mission p'.ant.

Behus Bay, Juneau, Alaska. — The Berus Bay Mining and
Milling Company has recently installed a 25-kilowat Edison Gen-
erator operating two 15 horse-power Edison double reduction
railway motors used for hoisting.

Cceur d'Alene, Idaho. — The Poorman, Tiger, Gem and
Frisco Mines, which are the wealthiest mines in the State, are
working up a plan to utilize, the power of Thompson Falls for
the operation of the mines in the Cceur d'Alene district.

Bakersfield, Cal. — It is intended to run the Big Blue, the
Joe Walker, Bright Star, the Keysville and any other mining
property within a radius of fifty miles from the Kern County
power plant by electricity, both for pumping and mining.

Redding, Cal. — The English syndicate which recently .pur-
chased the Iron Mountain Mine is engaged in considerable de-
velopment work, and will probably erect a reduction mill near
Copley to be run by electric power transmitted from a neighbor-
ing spring.

Yellow Jacket, Idaho. — The water power of Yellow Jacket
Creek is to be used to drive the mine and mill at this place. The
transmission will be one mile, and experts have reported that
these improvements will be necessary before the mine can start
up with satisfactory results.

Bodie, Cal. — The Standard Consolidated Mining Company,
which was the first to install a long distance electric transmis-
sion plant on the Pacific Coast, has increased its plant by the
addition of a 100 h . p. General Electric generator for operating
pumps, hoisting machinery, etc.

Seattle, Wash. — F. H. Osgood and E. H. Ammidown have
announced that they are prepared to enter into a contract to de-
liver to the city any amount of water necessary from the Cedar
River falls. This will deliver water into the city at high head,
the utilization of which, for electric purposes, is being con-
sidered.

Oroville, Cal. — It is believed that the Golden Feather
Mine, comprising about a mile of the Feather River bed, will be
practically worked out this year, in view of which its owners are
considering the advisability of utilizing the water power at the
command of the mine for electric transmission purposes. Proba-
bly 5,000 horse-power can be developed.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The Journal states that a survey is
being made at Tejunga for the development of water on a large
scale by means of tunnels and percolating pipe, by people whose
identity is kept secret. Already nearly $2000 has been expended
on preliminary work, and the Los Angeles Railway Company has
agreed to abandon its present steam plant and adopt power from
the electric transmission, provided a saving of 5 per cent, will be
effected thereby.

Los Angeles, Cal. — H. Hawgood, Consulting Engineer of the
Kern River and Los Angeles Electric Power Company, has sent
out a party, under F. H. Olmstead, to locate a route for the trans-
mission line from the point where power is to be generated to
this city, a distance of about 105 miles. The work of the survey-
ing party will occupy about a month, and in the meantime work
on the canal is progressing rapidly. From the report of W. D.
Larrabee, C. E., it appears that 10,000 horse-power at 200 feet
fall, or 50,000 horse-power at 1,000 feet fall, can readily be devel-
oped. It is expected to develop and tronsmit to Los Angeles 40,-
000 horse-power, which can be done at a cost of $125 per horse-
power.

Salt Lake City, Utah. — Contracts have been closed in New
York for the complete transmission plant of the Big Cottonwood
Power Company. Four General Electric 400-kilowatt tri-phase
generators are to be driven from Pelton water wheels, each gen-
erator being direct coupled to a Pelton wheel. The plant will be
an innovation in that the wheel house will be moulded to and oc-
cupy the position on the dynamo base ordinarily held by the dy-
namo pulley, which at once makes a very compact installation.
The Pelton "wheels will be about four feet in diameter and will be
driven at a head of 380 feet, water for the same being carried

54

THE ELECTRICAL JOURNAL.

[Vol. I, No. 2.

partly in wood-stave pipe and partly in iron pipe. The total
transmission will be for seventeen miles, at 10,00(3 volts, and the
entire equipment has been ordered. The Big Cottonwood plant
was conceived and promoted by R. M. Jones, the well-known
hydraulic and electric engineer of this city.

Tulare, Cal. — All rights of way for the Keweah Electric
Power Company have been secured.

Grass Valley, Cal- — Eugene J. de Sabla has been ap~
pointed Superintendent of construction of the Nevada County
Electric Power Company, with headquartes in this city.

Redlands, Cal. — President Baldwin of Pomona College has
a force of men at work on his tunnel in Mill Creek, which is
designed to develop power for an electric plant. The tunnel is
now 300 feet deep.

Grass Valley, Cal. — The Gold Hill Mine will commence
operations again as soon as electric power can be obtained from
the Nevada County Electric Power Company, now under con-
struction. The mine has long been idle because of the high
price of fuel.

Ferndale, Cal. — Surveyors Shaw and Francis have reported
adversely upon a proposition to utilize the water power of the
Upper Bear River forjtrans mission to this place, as the cost would
be tyo great.

Jacksonville, Or. — The Klamath Falls Light and Water
Company, recently incorporated for the purpose of erecting and
operating an electric plant and water works, has purchased a
site from E. R. Reames, and have contracted with the irrigation
company to run their plant.

San Francisco. — The American Power and Tide Wheel
Company has been incorporated for the purpose of securing and
owning water rights ; to construct and own reservoirs and canals ;
to erect, sell, own and use prime movers and power plants to be
run by electricity, water, steam or other means. Directors,
Chas. Boone, Marcus S. Love, A. H. St Marie, R. M. Clements,
of this city, andD. E.Alexander, of Sacramento. Capital stock,
$900,000.

Missoula, Mont. — The Board of Trade has adoptea resolu-
tions favorable to a proposition submitted by the Missoula Gen-
eral Electric Company for the damming of the Missoula River.
Under this proposition the citizens of Missoula are to guarantee
title and flowagerights to either the Heyfrow or Kroone ranch,
with flowage rights, and to subscribe $15,000 to the first mort-
gage bonds of the Electric Company, which amount to $15,000.
The city is to extend the light contract with the Company for a
minimum of 31 lights, five years beyond the present contract
period. If these conditions be fulfilled the Company agrees to
build an 18-foot dam and power house by January 1st. The Com-
pany states that 500 horse-power will be developed for electric
purposes. The dam will develop 3,000 horse-power at low water,
of which 600 horse-power will be used for irrigating. $11,000 is
already subscribed and the plan meets with general approval.

Bakersfield, Cal. — Specifications asking for bids have been
issued by the Power Development Company, of San Francisco.
The Company proposes to develop the water power existing at
the mouth of the Kern river canyon, about fourteen miles north-
east of Bakersfield, which will be used under a head of 190 feet,
and furnish at least 10,000 horse-power. Some of the best capit-
alists in San Francisco control the Company and it is proposed to
supply power to consumers at a price equivalent to what it would
be if coal could be bought for $6 per ton. The present price of
coal in Bakersfield is $13 per ton. The flume line is nearly com-
pleted, and on August 15th the contract will be let for the
remainder of the construction work. A seventy-two inch steel
pipe will be used to convey the water from the end of the long
flume to the water-wheels in the power house. At first 1500
horse-power will be developed, and this will be gradually in-
crealed from time to time to meet the demands for extra power.
There are some valuable mines about thirty miles east of Bakers-
field, that require about 1300 horse-power, and they will be
accommodatod next summer.

San Francisco. — Satisfactory progress is being made by the
Clear Lake Electric Company toward the utilization of the waste
water power of Clear Lake, in Lake County, for delivering
electric energy to San Francisco, Oakland, Benecia, Mare Island,
Vallejo, Santa Rosa and other cities along the line. The invest-
ment necessary to develop the power may reach $3,000,000.
Clear Lake has a surface area of eighty-two square miles and a
catchment area of 517 square miles. Its average depth is forty
feet and the average rainfall, as taken from different measure-
ments and observations from 1867 to date, is 34.4 inches per an-
num, 50 per cent, of which for utilization would amount to
119,565 000.000 gallons per annum, or 327,000,000 gallons daily.
By building a 27-foot dam across Cache Creek, the outlet of the
lake at a point five miles below the lake, and by building 67,300
feet of 5-foot pipe line, a head of 424 feet of water will be ob-

tained which will develop 28,950 horse power at the dynomos.
Clear Lake lies at an elevation of 1317 feet, a distance of seventy-
five miies due north of San Francisco, and the company hope to
be able to sell power in San Francisco for $4.00 per horse power
per month. Tne construction of an electric railway, to be known
as the Clear Lake and Vaca Valley Railroad, from Clear Lake to
Benecia is also contemplated .

MISQELLdNEOMS.

San Francisco. — Union No. 6 of the National Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers held their annual picnic at Schuetzen Park
on July 14th.

Santa Barbara, Cal. — San Francisco parties have leased
all the bituminous rights of the Alcatraz Asphalt Company, at
Carpenteria and will sink oil wells.

Palouse, Wash. — The Palouse Mica Company has been in-
corporated by Charles Treavor Cross, John P. Duke and William
Goodyear. Capital stock, $100,000.

San Diego, Cal. — Mayor Carlson has vetoed an ordinance
imposing a ground rental of fifty cents per annum for each pole
erected or used for electrical purposes.

San Francisco. — The illustrations which appeared in the
Morning Call concerning the recent fiesta in Los Angeles, were
transmitted from that city by the telautograph.

Bakersfield, Cal — It is reported that Captain John Barker
recently signed a contract with parties in San Francisco to bore
for gas and oil at his place on Kern river, about six miles above
here.

Anaconda, Mont. — E M. Talbot, foreman of the power
house of the Anaconda Electric Light and Power Company,
was instantly killed on July 7th by the bursting of a pulley on
the main shaft.

Watsonville, Cal. — A committee of local firemen has ad-
vised the Board of Trustees to investigate and then adopt a new
fire alarm system which Burbeck & Co. agreed to maintain for a
monthly rental of $20.

Victoria, B. C. — William Sutton, a lumberman of Euculet
District, Barclay Sound, is erecting a complete electric power
transmission plant, to be driven by water power, to be used for
transporting logs from timber land to water. The electric motors
will displace the use of teams or horses and portable steam en-
gines.

Seattle, Wash. — In revenge for a fancied grievance, a mis-
creant crossed an arc and an alternating incandescent circuit with
several strands of bell wire, the result of which, probably
fifty telephones were burned out, together with a dozen or more
fire alarm boxes, and the lighting service on the crossed circuits
was interrupted for the night.

Los Angeles, Cal.— The oil producers of this city have or-
ganized by adopting a Constitution for the formation of an Oil
Producers' Exchange, which will endeavor to put in pipe lines
to the ocean, so that shipment can be made by water, thus widen-
ing the market. It is believed that by this means oil can be
landed in San Francisco for $1.30 per barrel.

Tacoma, Wash. — An ordinance has been enacted establishing
new rates of lighting service from the municipal plant and which
reduces the old rates approximately as follows : All night arc
lights, 20 per cent. ; midnight arc lights, 37 per cent. ; half arc
lights, 30 per cent. ; incandescent commercial lights, 50 per cent.
The Board of Public Works claims this to be necessary because
of alleged violations by the Commercial Electric Light Company
of an agreement with the city to maintain the old ordinance
rates, while the company denies this but claims that the intro-
duction of the Welsbach business have cut into the city's
business. A rate war is now being waged between the city and
the company, and the Tacoma Gas and Electric Light Company
has under consideration the bringing of a suit to enjoin the city
from selling any lights at less than cost.

A WATTMETEE FOR SALE.

One Western Altei-nating and Direct Current, Di-
rect Reading WATTMETER. Scale 0 to 30,000 Watts;
0 to 200 amperes and 0 to 150 volts. Complete, with
conducting cable and portable case. But little used and
in strictly first-class condition. A bargain for cash.
May be examined at the office of the Electrical Jour-
nal, 303 California Street, San Francisco.

THE JOUHNAk OF ELECTRICITY.

I . #

Vol. I.

SEPTEMBER, 1895. No. 3.

^he folsom' ^acramonto ^oiDzr transmission.

The utilization of the water-power of the American
River was first conceived by the late Horatio Gates
Livermore, one of the pioneers of the State, who in the
early '60s was engaged in the logging industry. The
famous Georgetown Divide, in which the first discovery
of gold in California was made, is situated in El Dorado
County, between the Middle and the South Forks of the
American River. It is a district that is exceedingly
mountainous, and is heavily timbered with sugar and
yellow pines of unsurpassed quality, and while floating-
logs down the American River from this district the

worked or even explored only during a few months in
the year. Iu the fall, when the snows have about dis-
appeared, the rainy season sets in'replenishing the wan-
ing supply from melted snows, and thus, between the
rains of winter and the melting snows of summer, the
water supply has never been known to fail. Practically
all of the catchment area is, moreover, of granite forma-
tion, surfaced with soil of varying depths, and its hun-
dreds of deep ravines form natural sites for the building
of impounding reservoirs for increasing the water sup-
ply to enormous proportions. In fact, it has been de-

Figure 1.— The Dam and Head "Works of the Foi.som Water Power Company, ShowingISection^IJof the East Canal.

Looking Down the American River.

necessity for securing a still water basin for locating log
booms to receive the logs became impressed upon the
mind of Mr. Livermore, who, in 1866, as President of the
Natoma "Water and Mining Company, laid the founda-
tions for the present dam. The various forks of the
American River rise in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
within a few miles of Lake Tahoe, and the supply of the
river is peculiar in that the catchment is derived from
new sources at all seasons of the year. The period usual
elsewhere as the " dry season " is bridged over by the
melting of snows in the mountains, and so deep is the
snow in some of these regions that the country can be

Copyrighted 1895, by Geo. P.]

termined from carefully made surveys that an expenditure
of less than twenty-five dollars per horse-power in the
construction of such impounding reservoirs will perma-
nently increase the flow of the river at Folsom to such an
extent that its minimum flow,^after these improvements
have been carried out, will exceed its present maximum
flow. A conservative estimate of the possible power
that can be developed by this means at Folsom is a
minimum of 15,000 horse-power.

The Folsom Water Power Company, which consists
of H. P. and C. E. Livermore, Albert Gallatin, A .J.
Ralston, and 'others, succeeded to all^the rights of the

Low. All; Eights Reserved.

56

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 3.

Natoma Water and Mining Company in 1881, up to
which time the foundations of the dam had been laid in
solid granite masonry, but so much capital was re-
quired to build a dam of sufficient solidity to withstand
the enormous pressures, that, in the early part of 1888,
a contract was entered into with the State of California,
whereby the State in return for ample concessions agreed
to furnish to the Folsom Water Power Company such
convict labor as was necessary to enlarge and finish the
company's dam, and to finish Sections 1 and 2 of
the proposed canal to the termination of Section 2 at
Robbers' Ravine, near the town of Folsom.

The nature of the site of the dam is clearly indicated
in the accompanying illustrations. High granite bluffs
confine the river on either side for many miles, and
where the dam is erected they form a natural point for
the building of such a structure. The dam has an
elevation of 210 feet above sea level, and of 175 feet

seven inches in diameter each, the remaining two having
a diameter of five and one-half inches each, all having
a stroke of five feet six inches each. The details of the
larger rams will illustrate the construction of the smal-
ler ones as well. The cylinders are seven and one-half feet
in length, with an external diameter of eleven inches,
and each has two trunnions on which it is free to oscil-
late. One of these trunnions is solid, while the other is
bored with a half-inch hole to i-eceive the pressure water
by which the apparatus is operated. The bottom of the
cylinder has a hemispherical cap secured to it by eight,
one aud one-fourth inch bolts, while at the other end
there is a brass stuffing box through which the shank of
the piston passes. The piston is six inches in diameter
and seven feet eight and one-half inches long, and the
piston head is a hemispherical brass knob with a project-
ing screw, by which it is fastened to the piston. When
the shutters have been raised the piston is fastened in

Figure 2. — The Dam and Head Gates op the Folsom Water Power Company,
Looking up the American River.

above Sacramento. It contains more than 37,000 cubic
yards of masonry, while the contents of the head works
is about 15,000 cubic yards. The general dimensions of
the dam are shown in Figure 5, from which it will be
seen that the crest is provided with a heavy wooden
shutter, 180 feet in length, which can be raised during
the low-water season in September by five hydraulic
rams, so as to create a storage basin for conserving the
flow during the hours of light load when the least amount
of water is used. The basin formed when the shutter is
raised backs up the water in the river for a distance of
about four miles, causing an estimated storage of 13,-
007,105 cubic yards of water. The shutter is a trussed
timber platform, resting in a masonry recess running
longitudinally along the top of the center of the dam.
When raised, the platform is made tight at the ends by
wedge pieces, and at the bottom by mud apron boards.
When lowered into the recess it is flat and secure from
damage by trees and logs which may pass over it. Three
of the five hydraulic rams operating the shutter are

position by means of a lockiug pin, moved back and forth
by a pinion aud hand wheel.

This hydraulic method of operating the gates is a
characteristic feature of the works of the company, and
there are in all about thirty similar rams in different
places, most of which are operated by hydraulic pressure,
at a pressure of 1000 pounds per square inch, piped from
the state power house on the canal. Snow and ice are
practically uuknown at Folsom, and on this account it
is possible to use hydraulic apparatus that would prove
impracticable in a severe, climate. The appliances for
operating the head gates on the east side canal, and
which are illustrated in Figure 6, are perhaps the most
noteworthy of all. The gateways they operate are six-
teen feet by fourteen feet in the clear, and are provided with
gates opening to a height of twelve feet six .inches above
the sill, and made of three by twelve inch timbers,
secured together by six bolts fastened through them.
Each gate is attached by link aud pin to the lower end
of a piston six inches in diameter, made of wrought iron

Sept, 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

57

Figure 3.— Section 1 of the East Canal op the Folsom Water Power Company, Showing the

State Power House in the Distance.

and sheathed with brass. The brass piston, which is
packed with cut leather, moves in a brass-lined cast iron
cylinder of twelve-inch bore and thirteen-foot stroke,
closed at each end with a stuffing box and gland to re-
ceive hemp packing. The pistons are operated by water
under the pressure stated, which is delivered to the
cylinders through a half-inch pipe. To provide against
any movement of the gates by leakage of water in the
cylinders, suitable checking gears are placed, there being
two such gears to each gate, and these gears are keyed
to a three and one-half inch shaft passing through the
bracket by which the cylinder is mounted on the bulk-

State is using about 800 horse-power of the power avail-
ble from this drop. Section 1 is cut much of the way
into solid granite cliffs, and the rock taken therefrom
was almost entirely used in the construction of the dam
and headworks on the east side and in the building of
the heavy masonry wall, eight feet wide on the top, from
fifteen to thirty feet wide at the base, and in some places
as high as thirty feet. This wall, which is built on the
bed rock, forms the outer bank of the canal. The sec-
tion is provided with four sand gates, and is about 2000
feet in length.

Section 2 is constructed with an outside bank of

Figure 4 -Robbers' Ravine, Marking the Division Between Sections 2 and 3 op the Folsom
Water Power Company's Canal, Showing a Log Dam of the American Land and Lumber
Company and the American River in the Back Ground.

head. A wire rope runs from the top of the gate to
each of the wheels, and a spiral spring is riveted at one
end to a projecting casting on the gear, and is fastened
at the other to a boss on the cylinder bracket.

THE EAST SIDE CANAL.

Two canals, known as the West Side and East Sxle
Canals, are projected to continue on down the river from
the dam. As yet the West Side Canal has not been con-
structed, but the East Side Canal is entirely finished.
It is divided into three sections, the first of which ex-
tends from the dam to a point just below the first or
State fall, where a drop of 7.33 feet iu level occurs, at
which is located the State power-bouse. At present the

earth and rock filling, on which is laid a broad-gauge
railroad track, and at the lower end of the section are
located four deep outlet gates, raised and lowered by
hydraulic rams. Section 2 is 4000 feet long, and its
inner side is faced by a heavy masonry wall, and the
outer side is protected against the river by heavy rip-
rapping.

The third section was built by the Folsom Water
Power Company. It is made by earth and rock excava-
tions and an earth rock fill, which forms the outer bank
of the canal and which, as in Section 2, carries the rail-
road track. The outer bank is protected by rip-rap, and
some portions of the inside are faced with dry rubble

58

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I. No. 3.

wall. Section 3 is 3500 feet long, which makes the total
length of the canal to be 9,500 feet.

The East Side Canal has a width of sixty-six feet
above the headgates. From the headgates to the State
fall, Section 1 has a width of fifty-three feet on top and
forty-five feet on the bottom. Sections 2 and 3 are
each fifty feet wide on the top and forty feet wide on the
bottom. They carry water eight feet deep, and with
such a grade that the water in the canal has an estimated
flow of 104,000 cubic feet per minute.

Four sluice or sand gates, each covering an opening
five by six feet through the wing dam, are located at the

stance will be drawn into one or the other of the tunnel-
months and be discharged through the sluices into the
river below.

Between Sections 1 and 2, and immediately over the
canal, the State of California has erected the Slate
power-house previously referred to. This is adjoining
the yard of the State Prison and is built of heavy granite
masonry. It has a floor area of 166 by sixty feet, is
sixty feet high, and within it are installed six special
eighty-seven-incb Leffel turbine water wheels with verti-
cal shafts, geared through beveled pinions to a horizontal
shaft overhead. From this shaft power is delivered by

>° -rDAM> ANY

SHOWING THE HEADW0RK5 OF BOTH

THE EAST^ WEST SIDE CANALS

Figure 5. — An Outline Plan of the Daii and Head Works of the Folsom Water Power Company.

end of the dam to prevent saud or gravel from passing
into the canal and causing injury to the wheels. The bot-
tom of these gates is eight feet below the level of the
bottom of the canal, and a short distance further down
the stream an eight-foot wall is built directly across the
canal. Inasmuch as ordinary gates placed in the side
of the canal would only remove the gravel within a few
feet of their entrance, three of the gates have a tunnel-
like arrangement built through the outer bank, the
mouths of these tunnels covering the entire width of
the canal. As the entrances to these tunnels are eight
feet below the bottom level of the canal, the water is
not impeded in its flow thereby, and any heavy sub-

cables and belting to a heav}' set of pumps, to a large
air compresser, to ice machines and to electric lighting
generators. The arrangement at the State fall is such
that the flow of water may be directed either to the
wheels or turned into Section 2 of the canal through
side gates operated by hydraulic rams, and in addition, '
a log chute or by-pass is provided to facilitate the
passing of logs down the canal to the saw mill which
it is proposed will be erected at Folsom. No water is
wasted at the State fall, but the entire flow continues
passing on down the canal.

At the lower end of Section 2 four other sand gates
have been placed, but they are more for the purpose of

Sept., 1S95.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

59

FrGURE (i. — Hydraulic Rams Operating Head Gates of the Folsom Water

Power Company.

relieving the canal during storms than for clearing it of
sand deposits. They are not, therefore, fitted with tun-
nels across the caual. The company's railroad crosses
from the outer to the inner bank of the caual ou a sub-
stantial truss bridge, supported by heavy masonry but-
tresses at the upper end of Section 3. Just below
this bridge a timber boom is extended across the
caual to deflect the logs into a large log basiu cover-
ing several acres.

THe HYDRAULIC PLANT.

The dam and canal is the property of the Fol-
som Water Power Company, but the plant about to
be described is the property of the Sacramento Elec-
tric Power and Light Company, which has acquired
all the power rights for the water from the Folsom
Water Power Company. At the terminal of the
canal a forebay, 150 feet long, 100 feet wide and
twelve feet deep has been constructed in a north-
westerly direction at right angles to the canal. It is
divided lengthwise by a continuous stone wall, reach-
ing above the top of the water and extending from
the canal to the power-house, so as to make virtually
two forebays. Each of these is again divided longi-
tudinally by planking which does not reach to the
surface of the water, and gates are placed at each end
of each forebay.

This construction was carried out because at cer-
tain seasons of the year much silt is held in suspension
in the water of the American River, owing to the
hydraulic mining constantly going on in its upper
branches. The velocity of flow in the river and canal
is sufficient to carry this silt along, and uuless it were
interrupted it would cause considerable trouble in the
turbines. Advantage has therefore been taken of the
fact that when a channel is widened out so as to cause

slack water silt will be deposited,
hence wide forebays were con-
structed. It will now be clear
that in order to clean out the silt
it will only be necessary to check
the flow in one of the divisions
of the forebay by closing the wheel
gates and opening the waste gates,
thus allowing a small flow to take
place in the forebay, dropping out
all silt with it, Then the water
■ is again let in. and the wheels may
be started and the other part of
the forebay may be cleaned out.
But one forebay was com-
pleted up to the time of the Elec-
tric Carnival, hence the plant was
operating to only half its capacity,
but by October 1st the remaining
forebay will be entirely finished,
when the entire plant will be prac-
tically completed. The hydraulic
part of the equipment was fur-
nished by the S. Morgan-Smith
Iron Works, of York, Pa., under contract with the Pelton
Water Wheel Company, of San Francisco, and consists of
four pairs of 30-inch McCormick turbines, having a capa-
city of 1260 horse-power each, and two of which, to-
gether with an exciter turbine, are illustrated iu Figure 7.

Figure 7. — Penstocks and Turbines for Two Units in the

Power House of the Sacramento Electric

Power and Light Company.

6o

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 3.

The wheels run under 11 head of fifty-five feet at 300
revolutions per minute, and are directly connected to
the armature shafts of the generators by insulated coup-
lings. The inlet pipes are eight feet in diameter, and made
of five-eighths-inch steel, with double draft lubes.

1

Figure 8. — The Powee House of the Sacramento Electric
Power and Light Company at Folsom.

Each pair of wheels is furnished with a steel fly-
wheel ten feet in diameter, weighing 10,000 pounds, and
which has a peripheral speed of 9125 feet per minute.
To provide for the centrifugal strain that such a high
velocity gives, heavy steel tires are shrunk on to the
rims. The exciters are run by two special wheels of a
size to give them the proper speed, which are also direct
connected as in the case of the larger wheels. The gov-
ernors are of the Feasch-Picard type, the same as are
used on the Niagara wheels, and, being located iu 1he
generator room, are convenient for observation and
control. Under the present temporary conditions it
is necessary for an attendant to watch the tachometer
and control the water manually.

-The wheels are made of phosphor-bronze aud
the work throughout embraces the latest and most
improved practice iu hydraulics. The hydraulic
equipment weighs upward of 400,000 pounds, and
the plant, as a whole, is believed to be the most
massive and powerful in the world, with the single
exception of that at Niagara.

THE POWER HOUSE.

Coupled direct to each of these four turbines, as
stated, through a 6 7-16 inch shaft fitted with in-
sulating flanges, is a 750 kilowatt three-phase Gen-
eral Electric generator. At the time of the Electric
Carnival only two of these generators, as shown in
Fig. 10, were in operation, and these are without doubt
the largest three-phase dynamos yet constructed.
Their height is 8 feet 8i inches, they cover a floor
area of 11 feet by 8 feet 8 inches, and their weight is
57,877 pounds each. They are provided with twenty-
four poles, and deliver a three phase current at a peri-
odicity of sixty cycles per second and at a potential of
S00 volts. The station is provided with two four-pole

500-volt exciters, having a capacity of 30 kilowatts each,

and the entire four generators may be excited from

either exciter.

From the generators the current is led through the

simple switching-board, Fig. 10, to the bank of the step-
up transformers placed in the transformer chamber
on the upper floor of the building. These are of the
large air-blast type manufactured by the General
Electric Company, and each have a capacity of 265
kilowatts. Each generator feeds a group of three such
transformers, making a total rated transformer capa-
city of 3180 kilowatts in the power house.

Only the dynamo potentials are handled at the
station switchboard, which is, as stated, essentially
a switching board. The two outside panels control the
four generators, and as the board is provided with
double sets of bus bars, the generators may be
coupled to the circuits of the pole lines as de-
sired. The center panel contains the synchroniz-
ing indicator lamps, the exciter instruments and the
main line switches, while the generator panels, in ad-
dition to the switches, are provided with a volt-
meter, current indicator, aud the usual pressure
regulator in each set. The switchboard is of Ten-
nessee marble, and presents a very handsome ap-
pearance.

Both the primary and secondary coils of all step-up
transformers are worked in parallel, taking current at
800 volts from the generators and delivering to the lines
at a potential of 11,000 volts. Each generator is pro-
vided with a separate and distinct circuit from the power
house to Sacramento, and they may be worked singlj'
or in parallel, in the latter instance a synchronism being-
effected through the use of suitable indicators. As yet the

Figure 9. — Two of the Four 750-Kilowatt Three-Phase
Generators in this Folsom Power House.

transformers are run without the air blast, but as soon as
the load increases sufficiently to cause material heating,
both the power house at Folsom and the sub-station at
Sacramento will be equipped with Sturtevant blowers,
each operated by a 2- kilowatt inductor motor.

Sept., 1S95.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

61

The power hou.se, which is shown at Fig. 8. is
divided into practically four parts. The photograph
from which the accompanying illustration was made was
taken before water was run into the tail-race, and at
present the water comes up withiu a few inches of the

Figure 10. — Generator Switchboard at the Folsom
Power House.

arches. The tail-race forms the first section of the power
house and the first story is divided into two portions,
one for the turbines and the other for the electrical ap-
paratus. The transformers occupy the upper story, form-
ing the fourth portion of the station. The secondaries
are led from the transformers to the pole lines out
through twelve porcelain-lined holes in the end of the
station, protected by a substantial hood.

THE POLE LINE.

The pole line fittingly exhibits the care that has
been exercised in the construction of the entire installa-
tion. It is a double line throughout, and following, as
it does, along the sides of the country road and the Sac-
ramento Valley railroad, it forms an avenue of poles
20.4 miles in length and of uniform construction. Fort}'-
foot peeled Washington cedar poles of diameters averag-
ing twelve inches at the top to sixteen inches at the butt,
are used throughout the country division, but in the
city sixty-foot poles have been placed at points of inter-
section with other pole lines. The transmission circuits
proper, or those carried on the country pole lines, are
supported on large special double-petticoat porcelain in-
sulators that have been tested to withstand a potential
of 25.000 volts A. C. The pole lines each support six
No. 1 B. & S. bare copper wires, effecting transmission
with an estimated line loss of ten per cent. Four such
wires are carried by the upper cross arm and the two re-
maining wires by the remaining cross arms, as clearly

shown in Figure 11. The illustration also shows that the
poles are gained for two extra cross arms, with the inten-
tion of doubling the capacity when necessary. The cross
arms, which are braced with angle irons, are seven feet
in length, having a section of 4x4 inches, and the poles
are set fifty to the mile, being placed six feet in the
ground.

For many years the Sunset Telephone and Tele-
graph Company operated a long-distance telephone line
between Sacramento and Folsom. It was of ordinary
galvanized iron construction and grounded at each end,
but as soon as the power transmission lines were put in
operation the telephone circuit became useless from the
induction. The new Capital Telephone and Telegraph
Company, however, which has just been established
in Sacramento, secured the privilege of placing a third
cross arm on one of the pole lines a distance of thirty-
six inches below the lowest power line. Number 14 bare
copper wire is supported on porcelain knobs four feet
apart, and the wires are transposed at every fifth pole.
Collimbia receivers and carbou transmitters are used,
and the service is not only satisfactory between Sacra-
mento and Folsom, but conversation may be carried ou
from Sacramento to Placerville, which is thirty-eight
miles beyond Folsom, or a total distance of fifty miles.

The actual length of the power transmission circuits
as measured by the pole line is as follows:

Feet.

From the power house to the railroad depot at

Folsom 1,05b*

From the Folsom depot to the limits of Sacra-
mento 102,432

From the city limits to the sub-station 10,000

Total length of pole line....
Or, practically, 21J miles.

113,488

Figure 11.— Double Pole Line Transmission Circuits of the
Sacramento Electric Power and Light Company.

the sub-station.
The distributing station, as the step-down or sub-
station of the Sacramento Electric Power and Light
Company is called, is located on the northwest cor-
ner of Sixth and H streets, Sacramento, quite close

62

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 3.

to the business portion of town. It is a substantial
lire-proof structure, two stories in height, with an airy
basement, and in addition to the general offices of the
company, which, when completed, will occupy the front

Figure 12. — The Motor-Generator Room in the Sub-statiom

of the Sacramento Electric Power and Light

Company at Sacramento.

corner portion, it contains the motor and generator
room (Fig. 12) on the ground floor. This room has an
area of 50 by 100 feet in the clear, and here are located
the three 3-phase synchronous motors and the various
electric railway genera-
tors, and arc lighting
dynamos comprising the
plant.

From the pole line
the transmission circuits
are led direct to the step-
down transformer cham-
ber in the sub-station.
Only a temporary
wooden apartment,
which appears in the
corner of the dyuaino
room (Fig. 12) is used
at present, as the per-
manent chamber has
not yet been completed.
Here are located nine
125-kilowatttype "A B"
or air blast transformers,
taking energy at 10,000
volts, and transforming
down to the various po-
tentials required for the
different forms of dis-
tribution.

being distributed over the city on a four-wire system con-
sisting of three wires for the three-phase current, and of
a fourth or neutral wire. The incandescent lighting ser-
vice is rendered from extensions made between either of
the three wires and the neutral, due care of course being
maintained to keep the circuits balanced within reasona-
ble limits, but the power service is rendered from the
three-phase wiring without reference to the neutral in
any way. Motors of large capacity will undoubtedly be
operated from 500-volt three-phase wiring, while the 125
and 250-volt four-wire system will be used for incandes-
cent lighting and small motor work.

The synchronous motors used are of the General
Electric "A F " type, form A, and each have a capacity
of 250 kilowatts. These motors are identical in all de-
tails. Each has sixteen poles, and develops 300 horse-
power at a speed of 450 revolutions per minute. They
are operated at an E. M. F. of 500 volts, the current al-
ternating at a periodicity of 60 cycles. A peculiarity of
the plant is the fact that the motors are connected di-
rectly in line with the main shafting through friction
clutches, and all pulleys on the shafting are friction pul-
leys. The main shafting, including the motor shafts, is
91 feet 6 inches in length over all, and has a uniform
diameter of seven inches. Its speed is, of course, identi-
cal with that of the motors, or 450 revolutions per min-
ute, and from the shaft are belted direct : One General
Electric, 4-pole, 200-kilowatt, 500-volt railway generator ;
two Edison bi-polar, 500-volt railway generators rated at
100 kilowatts each, and one Thomson-Houston M. P. 90,

Figure 13. — The Oar Barn of the Central Electric Railway Company, Sacramento.

The large 250-kilowatt synchronous motors are sup
plied with energy from six of the nine 125-kilowatt trans-
formers, delivering current at 500 volts. The remain-
ing transformers step down to 125 volts, the current

500-volt generator ; also three Brush arc lighting Class
Y dynamos, each having a capacity of 100, 2000 candle-
power arc lamps, and each of which, therefore, has a
rated output of 9.6 amperes at 5000 volts. The approxi-

Sept., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

63

mate energy required to operate these dynamos at full
load is 1000 horse-power.

No novel features are presented in the switchboards,
which are of the usual fire-proof form. The sub-station
will eventually contain four distinct boards', the first of
which handles the incandescent lighting circuits of the
city. From the second switchboard, which is fed with
3-phase current at a potential of 500 volts from the trans-
former room, the circuits run through the usual devices
to the three 250-kilowatt motors described. The third
switchboard will control the various railway generators
and circuits, while the fourth switchboard is the stand-
ard form of arc lighting board designed and manufactured
by the General Electric Company.

POWER CONSUMPTION.

An observation that should be emphasized in a de-
scription of the Sacramento Electric Power and Light
Company's plant is the fact that a market for a consider-
able portion of its output is already contracted for. The
transmission scheme itself is, therefore, a reality and not
a venture, and of its consumers at the present time, the
Central Electric Railway Company, comprising the en-
tire street railway system of the city, is the lai-gest pa-
tron. This road embraces 24.5 miles of a single track
and 17 miles of double track, a standard gauge of 4 feet
8i inches being used. The i*ails are of combination
type, weighing from 35 pounds to 56 pounds per yard,
according to whether they are used on the main thor-
oughfares or on branch lines. The cars are largely of
the combination type, and the practice of equipping each
car with a 15 horse-power single reduction motor has
been adopted because Sacramento is an absolutely level
city, and the simple single equipment has been found to
be satisfactory in every way. Brill trucks are used ex-
clusively, and in all the system comprises thirty-two
motor cars and three trailers. The maximum power re-
quired to operate the system is 650 horse-poAver, but in
laying out the station a surplus of 250 horse-power has
been provided for extensions of the road, and the capacity
available by the railway company from the transmission
circuits, is, therefore, 900 horse-power.

The Company owns about three-quarters of the block
bounded by Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, N and M
streets, upon the south-east corner of which is located
the large brick car-barn illustrated in Fig. 14. This
structure has a capacity of housing forty-eight cars, and
in addition contains in the rear a well-fitted repair shop
operated by electric power. Other buildings adjacent
contain a blacksmith, carpenter and paint shop, while
the offices of the general manager of the road occupy the
front corner portion of the main building.

The system is well provided with features for at-
tracting the patronage of the amusement-loving public.
At East Park, on Thirty-first street, the company has
erected the largest toboggan slide in the State, which is
operated by a 10 horse-power electric motor run from the
railroad circuit. Here a hotel has been erected, and the
park itself is a very attractive recreation and picnic
ground, Oak Park, which is owned by the company, is

situated on the south-east corner of the city limits, and
here are found lawns, gardens and other attractions,
among which is an excellent dancing pavilion. The
branch of the railroad reaching Oak Park also extends
to the baseball ground, while on the M street line is lo-
cated the well-known Sutter's Fort with its surrounding
grounds, and which daily attracts hundreds of visitors.

New demands for power seem to be arising daily
and negotiations are now in progress with the Southern
Pacific Company for the placing of 900 horse power in
motors in the railroad shops, which at present are opera-
ted by steam. These shops employ about 4000 men, and
it is possible that the amount of power required for their
operation may materially exceed the figure named.

Sacramento is located on a low, level country that
is protected from inundations from the Sacramento river
by means of levees built along its bank, as a result of
which there is a considerable seepage of water beneath
its soil, and at present this seepage is collected by means
of percolation, and pumped back into the river, the
power for running the pump being obtained from the
city water-works. During the recent State Fair, how-
ever, the members of the City Board of Trustees were so
impressed with the efficacy of operating centrifugal
pumps from induction motors that they have now passed
a resolution inviting proposals for the operating of the
city pumping station by electricity, and as a result of
which, it is believed that the Sacramento Electric Power
and Light Company will receive the contract for deliver-
ing several hundred horse-power for the purposes named.

Referring to the question which has been raised from
time to time as to the water-power available for use at
Folsom, Mr. H. T. Knight, consulting hydraulic en-
gineer for the Folsom Water Power Company and who
has perhaps made more careful measurement of the
water supply of the American River than any other
person, reports that the available fall below the power-
house from the tail race of the plant to the American
River is twenty-six feet, while the head utilized by the
present plant is 55 feet. This twenty-six-foot fall can
be readily utilized, Mr. Knight states, by constructing
about 100 feet of canal from the present tail race, fifty-
five or sixty feet in length, to carry the water from the
proposed supplementary power-house to the river. The
present arrangements of the Sacramento Electric Power
and Light Company contemplate the use of only about
one-third of the capacity of the canal, and its remaining
capacity may be made available for additional installa-
tions by a comparative! jr small outlay.

The electrical equipment of the system of the Sacra-
mento Electric Power and Light Company was installed
by the General Electric Company through its regular en-
gineering corps, the work being placed under the general
supervision of Mr. J. A. Lighthipe, Chief Engineer of
the Pacific Coast office, who was assisted by Mr. A. C.
Jewett, Superintendent of Construction at the power
house, by Mr. B. O. Boswell, Superintendent of Pole
Line Construction, and by Mr. C. O. Schaeffer, Super-
intendent of Construction at the sub-station.

The principal stockholders of the Sacramento Elec-
tric Power and Light Company, as well as of the Central
Electric Railway Company, are Messrs. Albert Gallatin,
Horatio C. Livermore, Charles E. Livermore and others.
The officers of the first-named corporation are Albert
Gallatin, President; Horatio P. Livermore, General Man-
ager, and Joshua Barker, Secretary, and it is to the
energy and enterprise of these gentlemen and Mr.
Charles E. Livermore, that the installation of this re-
markable j)ower transmission is due.

64

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 3.

THE CAPITAL GAS COMPANY.

Up to the present time the requirements of the Sac-
ramentans for gas and electric light and for electric
power have been catered to by the Capital Gas Company,
a powerful concern that was organized by the consolida-
tion of the Sacramento Gas Company and the Citizens'
Gas, Light and Heat Company. The then new concern
was incorporated, on January 4th, 1875, with a capital
stock of $40,000, which was subsequently reduced to
$10,000 while at present the amount is divided into
10,000 shares at $50 each, making a total issue of
$500,000. Among the original incorporators of the Cap-
ital Gas Company, and all of whom are now holders of
its stock to a great extent, are names that are known the
country over. Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Charles
Crocker and C. P. Huntington all had considerable hold-
ings, as did Wm, Alvord, now of the Bank of California,

stituted the first effort of the parent Thomson-Houston
company to introduce its electric lighting machinery on
the Pacific Coast ; its " apparatus " consisted of one 12-
lamp 2000 candle power arc lighting dynamo and one
25-lamp dynamo, which were among the first brought
to the Pacific Coast ; hence it is clear that the subject of
this sketch is at least entitled to mention in electrical
history.

At the present the Capital Gas Company is operating
practically all the electric lights, both arc and incandes-
cent, burned in Sacramento ; but the electric power con-
sumed is, on the other hand, most generally furnished
by the Sacramento Electric Power and Light Company.
Incandescent service is furnished both by the fiat rate
and meter systems, the rate for the latter being 15 cents
per kilowatt hour, with a sliding scale of discount ac-
cording to the amount consumed. For arc lighting by
2000 candle power lamps the weekly rates vary as fol-

Figures 1 and 2.— The Electric Power House and Gas Works of the Capital Gas Company, Sacramento.

Oliver Eldridge, of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph
Company, and B. J Tallant, the banker. In addition to
these, the Capital Gas Company now has coupled with it
the names of B. U. Steinman, Mayor of Sacramento and
who is President of the Company; C. H. Cummings, Secre-
tary and Treasurer; Frank Miller, President of the Bank
of D. O. Mills & Co.; Benj. Welsh ; Oliver Eldridge, who
is Vice-President ; H. H. Taylor and H. C. Woods of
San Francisco, and others — hence it will be seen that
the commercial antagonist of the Sacramento Electric
Power and Light Company is supported by men of the
soundest financial standing.

The industry of electric lighting was not entered into
by the Capital Gas Company until 18S7, when the busi-
ness, apparatus and good will of the Pacific Thomson-
Houston Electric Company was purchased. The com-
pany was exploited by Mr. F. G. Waterhouse. and con-

lows : Nine o'clock circuit, $2 ; ten o'clock circuit,
$2.25 ; twelve o'clock circuit, $2.75, and all night circuit,
$3.50. The gas rate for lighting and fuel purposes is
$2.50 per thousand cubic feet.

The power house of the Capital Gas Company (Fig.
1) is a substantial brick building having inside dimen-
sions of 124 feet by 104 feet. It is of thoroughly fire-
proof construction, and contains no wood work or timber
whatever, except the door and window casings and
the mats about the high potential dynamos. It is divided
by a fire wall into two portions, known as the dynamo
and boiler rooms, the former being 124 by 64 feet in
area, and the latter 124 by 40 feet. The roof over each
is of corrugated iron, supported by iron trusses, and be-
neath the dynamo room is a basement 12 feet high. The
floor of the dynamo and engine room is supported by
brick piers and steel I beams which carry brick arches

Sept., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

65

over which is placed the concrete tioor. The entire con-
struction is most substantial, and is designed with the
idea of preventing a recurrence of the destructive fire
which consumed the plant in April, 1894.

In the boiler room is a battery of six Babcock
it Wilcox water tube boilers having a working capacity
of 900 horse power, and which operate under pressure
as high as 140 pounds to the square inch. The boiler
feed pumps consist of one 6 inch Dow pump having a
capacity in excess of the requirements of the boilers,
together with an auxiliary of two 4-inch Buffalo duplex
pumps. In addition, the boiler room contains a 5-inch
Buffalo duplex pump, to be used for fire purposes. A
large horizontal flue extends along the rear of the boil-
ers for a distance of over 70 feet, ending in the chamber
of the brick stack This stack, which is 140 feet high
and circular in form, rests on a brick foundation that is

As is well known, the item of fuel has always been
of serious concern in California, and, as a result of care-
ful experiment, the Capital Gas Company has now
adopted and is using lone coal, under a forced draught of
J inch pressure. This is a lignite coal mined not far
from Sacramento, and which has a market value of $1.80
per ton. It is only recently that it has been found pos-
sible to use lone coal to any advantage, otherwise its
low price, as compared with the rates of $6 and $7 per
ton for ordinary coal, would have brought it iuto exten-
sive use. The boilers are also fitted for burning Welch
anthracite coal should it be necessary for any reason
to change from lone coal. The plant has coal stor-
age bins for about 4000 tons for the electric light plant
and for about 7000 tons for the gas works. The Com-
pany imports all coal direct.

The motive power for the electric plaut consists of

Figures 3 and 4. — Interior op the Electric Light Plant of the Capital Gas Company, Sacramento.

30 feet square, and its base, which is 18 feet square (out-
side measurement), contains the chamber, 13 feet square.
At a height of 30 feet this chamber is brought to the
cylindrical portion of the stack proper, and extends to
the top with an internal diameter of 7 feet. Not only
the stack but the entire station was laid out for an ulti-
mate capacity of double the present size.

The condensing plant is located in the basement of
the station, and consists of three Davidson condensers
each having a capacity of 650 horse-power. The engines
are connected to an exhaust header so arranged as to use
one or more condensers at any time. Condensing water
is taken from the Sacramento river, on the bank of
which the station is located. From the hot well the
water is passed through Baragwanath tubular heaters.
The water is practically free from scale, as it never
forms more than a mud scale 1-16 of an inch thick,
which soon scales off.

three engines, each of which is belted direct to the coun-
tershaftiug, which is along the north wall of the building
under the switchboard gallery. The first engine is a
cross compound Corliss condensing engine, built by the
Risdon Iron Works of San Francisco. It has a stroke
of 4S inches, with cylinders 22 inches and 40 inches in
diameter, respectively, and, running at SO revolutions
per minute with steam at 120 pounds, it develops 600
horse power. The next engine is a triple expansion ma-
rine type vertical, built by the San Francisco Tool Com-
pauy, and which has a capacity of 400 horse power at
140 revolutions per minute. The stroke of the engine
is 30 inches ; the high-pressure cylinder has a diameter
of 15 inches, the intermediate cylinder has a diameter of
24 inches, while two low pressure cylinders each having
a diameter of 24 inches are used. Iu order to economize
floor space, one of these low pressure cylinders is placed
in tandem over the high pressure cylinder and the other

66

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 3.

is iu tandem over the intermediate cylinder. The third
engine is a simple Eeynolds Corliss, 20 by 48 inches, run
condensing, and which delivers 250 horse power at 78
revolutions per minute.

These engines all belt together from their fly wheels
to the line shafting, a double leatlier belt 30 inches in
width being used on the Eeynolds Corliss and rope trans-
mission being used on the other two engines, the Risdon
cross compound being equipped with ten 2-inch single
manilla ropes and the vertical engine being equipped
with the Link Belt Company's rope transmission,
using 1^-iuch manilla ropes. The driven pulleys
of the countershaft are equipped with Hill clutch
couplings, except for the vertical engine, which is so ar-
ranged with flanges as to be detachable, iu order that, if
desired, it may be at rest while the shaft is in motion.
The countershafting runs at 272 revolutions per minute,
is equipped throughout with self-oiLing bearings, is 100
feet long, and its diameter varies from 5J inches to 4-J
inches. The driving pulleys on the countershaft are,
wherever necessary, equipped with Hill clutches.

The generating plant consists of eleven 50 lamp
Thomson-Houston arc dynamos and two 35 lamp arc
machines of the same make. Also one '' D 62 " 500 volt
Thomson-Houston power generator for the distribution
of both light and power on metallic service, together with
one 60 kilowatt Thomson-Houston alternator aud two
120 kilowatt General Electric alternators. All leads
from dynamo to switchboard are carried in iron-armored
conduits under the floors and up along a wall of
the station to the switchboard gallery, which is con-
structed entirely of iron and marble, with the usual fit-
tings common to the latest type of fire-proof switchboards
as manufactured by the General Electric Company.

Overhead distribution is used exclusively, and the
pole lines and circuits for the various services embrace
all the principal streets, while the entire city is covered
by the arc circuits for public lighting. The main pole
line from the station to the business centers consists of
sawed Santa Cruz redwood poles, 16 inches square at the
butt and 10 inches square at the top. Eight-pin cross-

Figure 5.— Interior op the Electric Light Plant of the
Capital Gas Company, Sacramento.

arms, 4 inches by 6 inches, are used, and the construc-
tion is very substantial.

The Directors of the Capital Gas Company have
long since realized that it is the province of organiza-
tions of their class to furnish illumination in whatever
form the public may demand, whether that be as gas or

as electric light, hence in the prosecution of their light-
ing business they have given great attention to the de-
velopment of their gas works. This is principally con-
tained in an irregularly shaped building constituting the
retort house, which has an area of 66 by 100 feet, and
the purifying and lime house, having an area of 60 by 80

Figure 6. — Interior of the Electric Light Plant of the
Capital Gas Company, Sacramento.

feet. In this combined buildiug are contained the en-
gine and pump rooms, the scrubber and purifying rooms
and the lime storage. In the retort house are eight
benches of six retorts each, each bench being heated with
a half depth regenerative furnace. A six-foot setting of
the Lowe double superheater, with all necessary pumps,
injectors, elevating machinery, meters, steam and air
plant used in the generation of water gas, are used.
Two seven-foot MacDonald station meters, each having
a capacity of 300,000 cubic feet per day, are here located,
while on the grounds are three gas-holders, each having
a capacity of 70,000 cubic feet. The gas produced is of
20 candle power absolute.

PERSONAL.

Mr. G. Gustavson has been appointed General
Manager of the Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards
Electric Road, vice F. M. Leland, resigned.

Mr. V. J. Mayo, has resigned the Superintendency
of the Capital Telephone and Telegraph Company, and
is at present in San Francisco.

Me. T. P. Hornsby, representing the National
School of Electricity, is organizing classes for the schools
in San Francisco.

Mr. Michael T. O'Day, M. S. E. E., Professor of
Applied Electricity, University of Notre Dame, Iudiana,
is visiting San Francisco and other California cities for
rest and recreation.

Mr. Francis O. Blackwell, Chief Engineer of the
power and mining department of the General Electric
Company, and who has been spending several weeks of his
vacation on the Pacific Coast, has returned to the East.

Mr. W. S. Heger, universally known as a pioneer
in the electric lighting business, has assumed the mana-
gership of the Pacific Coast office of the Westinghouse
Electric and Manufacturing Company, with headquarters
in the Mills Building San Francisco. His many friends
on the Pacific Coast are pleased to know of his return
and wish him unlimited success.

Sept., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

67

THE ELECTRIC CARNIVAL.

Resplendent indeed was the scene, when, on the
perfect evening of September 9th the joy felt by the peo-
ple of the city of Sacramento over the completion of an
enterprise that assured a cheap power to its languishing
industries, gave.outbursts of approval in the decorations
of gaudy carnival array, in brilliant illuminations, in
electric pageants, and in the hospitality that has become
proverbial to California and Californians. The occasion
was one of triple jubilee ; the State Fair, that, has yearly
drawn thousands to the Capital City, was in progress.
Then it was " Admission Day "—the forty-fifth anniver-
sary of the entry of California into the sisterhood of
States — and thousands upon thousands of members of

proud in the knowledge that they have accomplished an
undertaking never before attained.

Picture, if you will, broad thoroughfares forming
the principal streets of a community whose long lines of
low, two-story buildings, and with here and there modern
office buildings aud mercantile houses cropping far above
their lowly neighbors, betoken a recent development
into cityhood. Its smooth, paved streets and broad,
well-kept sidewalks indicate a spirit of enterprise, and
when, on looking further one finds some of the largest
and finest retail stores in the West, he feels anew that
Sacramento is fast becoming metropolitan in its way.
But on this night its streets are densely thronged with
people whose radiant, expectant faces speak of some ap-
proaching event, even were not these streets arched and

Electric Illumination of the State Capitol on the Evening of September 9, 1895.

the Native Sons of the Golden West, which is the mighti-
est social organization in California, were gathered to
honor the natal day of their beloved State. The success
at the Fair had been unprecedented, and never before
had the attendance to the celebration of the Native Sons
and Daughters been so large, or had the "Parlors," as the
lodges are termed, gathered in such good cheer and mer-
riment. It was a gala day indeed, with its magnificent
parades and sumptuous receptions, but its crowning
feature was the "Grand Electric Carnival," to the suc-
cess of which loyal Sacramentans had devoted weeks of
time, and spent thousands of dollars. Nor were their
exertions in vain, for never before has the world wit-
nessed such a sight, nor never again can a community
experience the novelty and enthusiasm of those who are

bedecked in the most brilliant raimeut of carnival col-
ors, or were not the buildings, as far as eye could reach,
simply ablaze with thousands of decorative lights.
Everywhere, from the miles upon miles of bunting upon
the streets to the paper boutonniers upon the lapels of
many coats, were present the carnival colors of green
and yellow and red to offend the aesthetic taste, yet withal
to lend allurement and enchantment to the scene.
Everywhere, from the top of the Maypole, nearly two
hundred feet above the ground, to the harness on the
horse of a peddler of chewing gum, were incandescent
electric lamps seemingly without number, increasing by
many fold the brilliance of the colors. Arches of light
and arches of triumphal character spanned the streets.
Yet others flashed out a cheering welcome, or told of the

68

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I. No. 3.

dawn of the day of progress or of a new era — " The New
Sacramento."

Picture again, then, scenes with augmented crowds,
which, though filled with merry-making and perchance
revelry, are silent at the first strain of music, and with
much tip -toeing and craning of necks, look eagerly down
the level distance for the coming of the now-delayed
procession. At last, in lurid outlines, the royal pageant
approaches, slowly and majestically, until uow before us
is " Old Glory " outlined in colors of fire. With one ac-
cord the voices of the people are raised in loyal cheer,
for in all the splendor of carnival attire, in all the expec-
tancy of wonders electrically wrought, that grand old flag
appearing in the National float, appropriately leading
the procession, awakened a patriotic sentiment in every
heart.

As to the pageant itself, any one who is familiar,
not only with the effects which may be obtained through
the artistic arrangement in decoration of allegorical
floats, but also with the extreme brilliancy of electric
cars elaborately illumined for trolley parties, will expe-
rience no difficulty in conceiving an idea of the scene.
In the National float the flag was 7^ by 12 feet in size,
and the stars and stripes were excellently portrayed by
red, white and blue incandescent lamps. The body of
the float represented a camp scene covered with natural
grass and flowers all illuminated by the subdued light
from incandescent lamps artfully concealed. At the
front of the float was the National shield in red and
white lights, with silver stars surmounted by an eagle,
while stacks of muskets and a cannon, on either side of
which were cannon balls, were placed upon the grass.
In the rear was a grizzly bear in the attitude of an in-
truder in the camp. The float, which was the concep-
tion of Director-General J. 0. Coleman, was very taste-
fully draped in flags and bunting, and was illuminated
by 525 16-caudle power lamps. The float was mounted
on a flat car, which was pushed by an illuminated trol-
ley car containing a number of Federal officers and offi-
cials of the Sacramento Electric Power and Light Com-
pany.

The State float followed this, in the center of which
was a golden throne ou which sat "California," and
seated at her feet was " Sacramento." Aside from the
festoons of light interwoven amidst draperies of plush
and satin in blue and gold, the magnificent bouquets of
cut flowers, illuminated with miniature lamps, constitu-
ted the chief features of interest. As with the National
float, the car bearing the State float was pushed1>y an
illuminated trolley car containing officers of the State of
California.

The Fruit and Flowers' float bore the carnival colors
of cherry-red, apple-green and poppy-yellow. It was
profusely garlanded and bedded with the choicest of
fruits, flowers, evergreens, palms and ferns. Queen
Flora's throne was supported on either side by illumina-
ted wreaths mounted on silvered lattice work, in front
of which was a vase holding ten large California poppies
wrought in electric lights. On each corner was a brass
post four feet high, surmounted by colored lights, and on
the center of either side was an illuminated shield, which,
together with other decorations, consumed the 300 lights
that were used on the float. The trolley car pushing the
Floral float contained the grand officers of the Native
Sons and Native Daughters of the Golden West. Then
came two illuminated trolley cars, lavishly decorated
with bunting and colored lights, carrying members
of the Sacramento County Pioneer Association.

These constituted the floats constructed by the Car-
nival committee, and which were the most artistic. The
employes of the railroad shops of the Southern Pacific
followed with twelve floats of their own design and con-

struction, that represented the various trades employed
in the great shops of the Company. Among the designs
submitted, worthy of special mention, were the Electric
Locomotive, built by the Machine Shop ; the Beehive,
by Car Shop No. 5 ; the Flaming Cupola, built by the
Foundry and Pattern Shop ; the Electric Star, built by
the Car Machine Shop; the Electric Furnace, built by the
Polling Mills ; Franklin's Kite, by the Boiler Shop ;
Electric Hammer, by the Blacksmith Shop ; Ornamental
Designs, by the Paint Shop ; Mechanical Designs, by the
Car Shop, and an Electric Fountain, by the Copper and
Pipe Shops.

The route of the procession followed through three
miles of streets, over which were various electric arches
and signs, among which were the following :

The Horse-shoe, containing 225 white 16-candle
power incandescents ;

The Maypole, containing 510 red, yellow and green
lamps ;

The " New Sacramento," 500 red lamps ;

Progress, 300 yellow lamps ;

Welcome, 400 white lamps.

Perhaps the most striking of these was the May-
pole. From the summit of the liberty-pole, 185 feet
high, were arranged six strings of 16 candle power
lamps in multiple, each string containing 85 lamps, in
carnival colors, which was so arranged as to give the
effect of spirals of different colors encircling the May
Pole. The colors started with a red appearing first on
one string, following as second on the next and third on
the third, and so on, thus forming the spiral effect. The
lamps were operated at a potential of 115 volts, and
were supplied from the three-phase incandescent circuit
of the Sacramento Electric Power and Light Company.

Without doubt, the illumination of the State Capi-
tol building presented the most brilliant appearance, and,
together with the illumination of the grounds, afforded
a scene surpassing in effect that of any single similar
effort heretofore attempted. The roof and dome of the
Capitol building were outlined with 2000 16 candle power
incandescent lamps, and, as the bear of the Native Sous
of the Golden West which surmounted the roof con-
tained 600 lamps, and the interior of the building-
was illuminated with 600 lamps, there were 3200
lamps used in and on the building. Surmounting
all were 12, 2000 candle-power arc lamps placed
ou the apex of the dome. In addition, the twenty-four
trees facing Tenth street, and forming the foreground of
the Capitol, were brilliantly lighted with 2000 yellow,
green, red and white incandescent lamps.

The methods of wiring utilized in effecting the illu-
mination of the Capitol and grounds are interesting,
as it can be readily understood that the installation of
such a large number of lamps on an ordinary system
would be impracticable because of the fact that no sta-
tion carries so large a reserve capacity as would be nec-
essary to meet such uuusual demands. The Capitol
itself, therefore, was lighted from the regular 1080 volt
incandescent alternating system of the Capital Gas Com-
pany, each circuit consisted of 100 volt multiples of 16
candle power lamps in series direct across the primaries.
These multiples were of vai'ying numbers of lamps. On
the rows forming the eaves of the roof, for instance, 27
lamps were placed in each multiple, while 10 lamps con-
stituted a multiple on the vertical columns, and on the
dome from 20 to 30 lamps were placed in parallel. Great
care was necessary in effecting the installation to pre-
vent the occurrence of grounds, as the roof of the build-
ing is entirely of metal, hence sockets were placed on
wood strips which were laid upon all flat surfaces or
temporarily secured to the curves. The illumination of
the trees was effected from the railway circuits of the

Sept., 1S95.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

69

Central Electric Railway Company, which is, as stated,
operated by power from the American river, at Folsom.
Series multiple wiring was used throughout, the circuits
beiug made up of five multiples of lamps in series, each
multiple carrying from nine to 11 lamps. There were
generally ten such series multiples to each tree. The
lamps tinted with carnival colors, together with many
white lamps, were used, the only deviation from the
usual color arrangement being that twice as many green
lamps as any other color were used.

The bear appearing on the roof the Capitol was
illuminated by current taken from the Folsom power.
It was about fifteen feet long by eight feet high, and con-
tained 600 16 candle power lamps wired in simple series
and operated from the trolley circuit.

THE HAYWARDS ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE.

The Oakland, San Leandro & Haywards Electric
Railway Company is one that has always been promi-
nently before the public and the electrical interests, be-
cause of its enterprise and the many features of superior-
ity the system possesses. Embracing in all twenty miles
of track, the system begins at the foot of Washington
street in Oakland and extends thence through the busi-
ness portion of the city to East Oakland and on through
the towns of Fruitvale, Melrose, Fitchburg, Elmhurst,
San Leandro and Haywards, terminating in a pleasant
canyon at the eastern limits of the last-named town. A
branch line, a mile in length, runs from the main road
to San Leandro, and throughout practically the entire
line the road parallels the Southern Pacific system,
which before the advent of the Haywards line had a
monopoly of the traffic. From the outset the competi-
tion between the steam and electric lines has been very
keen, and it now appears to have reached its zenith, as
the Southern Pacific Company has put on extra local
trains with superior service and is running at very close
intervals with materially reduced fares.

It is with the intention of meeting this competition
all along the line that the electric road has placed an
express service in operation, and will at the earliest
opportunity effect connections by which passengers can
be landed through from any point to San Francisco. At

The Haywards Electric Locomotive.

present the Southern Pacific Company controls the
through commutation business between Haywards, San
Leandro and San Francisco, but the bulk of local traffic
is by the electric line, and in addition, a new and profit-
able industry has been developed by the carrying of farm
products to Oakland and the metropolis. The very pro-
ductive region in and about Haywards has never contri-
buted materially to the income of the Southern Pacific

Company because the freight rates that have prevailed
have been so high that it has been cheaper to carry the
garden truck in by team than by rail. In order to secure
this trade the Haywards line accepted the recommendation
of Mr. F. M. Leland, then General Manager of the road,
and built the electric locomotive known as "No. 100"
and shown in the accompanying illustrations. This is
equipped with two 50 horse-power motors and a series

The Haywards Electric Locomotive.

parallel controller, and the unusual weight of the loco-
motive— 21,400 pounds — is due to the fact that under its
floor is placed a layer of railroad iron. Steam locomotive
practices are followed out to a large extent as, for
instance, locomotive driving box brasses are used and
the locomotive is equipped with air brakes.

The air compressor forms a feature of interest. It
is operated by an independent electric motor manu-
factured by the Electrical Engineering Company of San
Francisco and having a capacity of three horse-power.
The motor is mounted on a single base with a duplex air
pump which the former drives through a single reduction
gearing. Through an ingenious arrangement of the
Electrical Engineering Company's starting rheostat and
a pressure valve of ordinary type, the entire mechanism
is automatic in action and requires practically no
attention. This compressor is due to Mr. G. Gustavson,
Master Mechanic and Superintendent of the road, and is
used with the greatest success. In addition to the loco-
motive, the freight or passenger trailers hauled by the
electric locomotives are equipped with air brakes, as are
also the 32-foot combination cars operated on the main
line. The whistles are also operated from the same
source.

The distinctive feature of the express service of the
Haywards Electric Road rests in the plan adopted of
running the loaded wagons on the cars and carrying
them to destination, which can be accomplished quicker
and more cheaply in this way than in any other
manner. The locomotive is in hard service regularly on
week days and performs even harder work on Sundays
in hauling picnic trains.

AS OTHERS SEE US.

The Electrical JouRNAL,published at San Francisco
by Geo. P. Low, is the latest electrical exchange to hand.
It is designed to represent the electrical interests of the
Pacific Coast and has a large amount of local information.
— [Canadian Engineer, Toronto, Ont.

As our Golden Gate contemporary [The Elect-
rical Journal, San Francisco] is a handsome paper,
well edited, and something after our own style, we
predict and hope for it a large measure of success. — [The
Electrical Journal, Chicago.

7°

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. -I, No. 3.

Wf\z Journal ot Electricity

An Illustrated Review of the Industrial Applications of Electricity, Gas and Power.

EliITEI) BY

F. A. C. PERRINE, D. Sc, and GEO. P. LOW.

Subscription Payable in Advance. Terms : — Domestic, One

Dollar per Year; Foreign, Two Dollars per Year.

This Rates for Advertising are Moderate.

PUBLISHED IWOf^THLiY BY GEO. P. LtOW,

303 California Street San Francisco.

LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE. MAIN 5709.

VOLUME I.

SEPTEMBER, 1895.

NUMBER 3.

EDI TO-RI AL

AN

OPPORTUNITY

LOST.

Without doubt the thousands of spec-
tators who found much to admire in the
most elaborate display of lighting effects
witnessed during the recent Electric
Carnival pageant at Sacramento, will
share the pangs of regret experienced by
the publisher who would record such scenes in words of
description and in artistic illustration, on learning that
despite the efforts of several local photographers there is
not to be obtained a single illustration of even a single
float that would make a creditable appearance or that is
worthy of reproduction. That such a situation can exist
in an enlightened American city which aspires to
National prominence is not only a matter to be deplored,
but tends to lead to the conclusion that Sacramento
affords a promising field for an enterprising photog-
rapher.

"WHAT'S

IN A

NAME."

The last issue announced a change in
the name of this publication from that
of " The Electrical Journal " to " The
Journal of Electricity." This early
change has been occasioned by the
almost simultaneous publication of two
periodicals with the same title. Whatever may be the
facts as regards the rightful ownership of the name in
question — " The Electrical Journal " — we deem it advis-
able, in the interests of our readers and of harmony, to
take this step to prevent all further confusion which
might occur on account of the title.

The original idea of publication and the adoption
of the name were very much earlier than the actual
date of the printing and copyright, and we believe that
our plans were sufficiently well known to the electrical
fraternity throughout the country to have avoided this
coincidence. From the information we have been able
to gather we firmly believe that we were the first to
adopt the title which we now relinquish. We were not?
the prior in the field ; and since the two journals have

been published we believe that our methods and matter
will not gain by being confounded with those of our
contemporary.

We desire no newspaper controversy in regard to
the question of the title. This paper will continue to
staud upon its own grounds, and the success it has
already attained will not be forgotten because of this
change. Nor are our plans altered in any respect by the
announcement that it is now to be called " The Journal
of Electricity, an Illustrated Keview of the Industrial
Applications of Electricity, Gas and Power."

THE

NEWER

SACRAMENTO.

The columns upon columns of com-
plimentary matter that have appeared
in the lay press eulogizing the enterprise
of the men who have made Sacramento
famous as being the first American city
to demonstrate the practicability of long
distance transmission of power at high voltage, have
told most exhaustively of the success achieved, but what
has been said in engineering papers concerning the elec-
trical distribution of power in manufacturing centers,
and which is now about to be put into practice in that
city, has received little, if any, attention on the part of
the public. From Folsom there has been delivered, and
is today in use in Sacramento, a very considerable
amount of power, and it is understood that during the
coming winter an equal or greater amount of electrical
energy will be delivered over the transmission lines of a
new company. In addition, it is understood that the
plant of the present gas and electric company is to be
brought to the highest degree of efficiency attainable,
whether that be in the use of steam or gas engine equip-
ments, in order that it may carry out its plan of competi-
tion to the fullest extent, and while no doubt the resi-
dents and users of power will be greatly benefited by
the availability of power which may be furnished in
either large or small amounts, and always at the lowest
possible cost, electrical engineers will be especially in-
terested in the result of the competition between electri-
cal power derived from waterfalls situated at a consider-
able distance, and the generation and transmission of
power from coal over the lines of the local company.

It seems that the public is at last about to realize
that the blight of high-priced fuel has brought, or may
be made to bring, the blessing of cheaper electric power,
and while, of late years, electrical engineers have not
doubted the technical feasibility of transmitting power
over great distances, a serious doubt does exist, not only
with engineers, but with capitalists as to the commercial
feasibility of many such projects. Bearing ever in mind
the potent factor of local conditions, the cold, hard ques-
tion that must receive equally impassionless considera-
tion, is, Which has the greater earning capacity, the elec-
trically transmitted power of a distant waterfall or the
electric power from a central station? No one doubts
that both of these systems are engineering successes. As
the business of the two systems is to deliver electrical
energy to the market, the problem, so far as Sacramento
is concerned, resolves itself into the question, Which can

Sept., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

7i

do the work cheaper, the central station consuming coal,
or the transmission plant consuming interest on the ad-
ditional expenditure necessary to develop the Avater
power, and render its energy available ?

Unless consolidation or other combination should
occur, there is reason to believe that Sacramento is on
the eve of a struggle for commercial supremacy between
the two electric systems which it is so fortunate as to
possess. One side is ranged on the vantage ground of
abundant water power, but its forces are crippled be-
cause of the heavy interest charges that must be met ;
the opposing side is free from bonded indebtedness, its
interest charges are light, and, if need be, by the substi-
tution of gas engines for its present steam plant, and by
effecting changes in its system of distribution, it can ren-
der service at exceedingly low rates. It is the outcome
of the struggle that electrical engineers are awaiting with
bated breath, but from it all cheaper and cheaper power
with greater and yet greater prosperity awaits the man-
ufacturing interests of the city.

This, then, is the good fortune that in all probability
awaits the newer Sacramento.

THE OPPORTUNITIES

Electrical engineering in the fields of
dynamo design and the application of
electricity for lighting and motive power
electro-chemical has become a question of detail to such
engineering. an extent t]iat ]itt]e reniai„s for the in-
genuity of one wishing to make any
advances along any new lines. The high frequency work
of Tesla and Thomson presents wonderful possibilities,
but as yet the application of high frequency transmission
exists only as a possibility, and the experimenting yet
to be done requires a genius of high order, aided by
an unusual amount of capital. Electro-chemistry, how-
ever, is rapidly advancing along the lines of laboratory
practice and technical workmanship toward becoming a
true part of the engineering profession.

The reduction of aluminum bj" the means of the
Cowles, Herault and Hall processes have already been
reduced to a scientific basis. The electrolytic refining of
copper has long since passed through its preliminary
stages, aud the great works in which thousands of tons
of copper are refined every year by means of electro-
lysis attest its superiority over furnace refining methods
heretofore in use. But, though bleaching by means of
salts obtained from electro-decomposition was one of
the earliest attempts of the electro-chemist, no wide
introduction of the process has been made up to the
present time. Bleaching salt may undoubtedly be
obtained by electrolysis, but the details of the plant
necessary for bleaching fabrics with complete success
have not been worked out. The same is undoubtedly
true of the electrical tanning of hides and the electrical
production of disinfecting fluids. Gradually, little by
little, we are learning what is necessary to advance these
applications of electrolysis from the experimental to the
commercial stage.

In general, the electrician attacking the problem is
deficient in his knowledge of chemistry, while chemists

of sufficient ability rarely have enough knowledge of
the electrical faults in their systems. A new training is
therefore needed for the engineer to enter upon the field
of electro-chemistry, but to men who combine the knowl-
edge of chemical manipulation with a thorough training
in electrical engineering not only are these fields open,
but a vast number of other problems are presented which
await solution and promise fortune for their solver. It
must have struck every man who read Mr. Keith's
paper on electro-metallurgy of gold and its discussion
before the British Institution of Electrical Engineers,
that the paper claimed discoveries in chemistry which
were but barely criticised by the eminent electrical
engineers who took part in the discussion. Whether
the electrical calculations were true or not depended
upon the truth of certain chemical theories, the knowl-
edge of which was wanting, and the criticisms were con-
sequently of but little value, either as approving or con-
demning the process.

The most recent advances in electro-chemistry
involve still more the underlying theories of chemical
action. The synthesis of chemical compounds has been
for many years the dream of the chemist, and, though
the chemists have stated the possibilities of such syn-
thesis, little advance has been made by any truly chemi-
cal process. Within the last few years we have been
astonished by the immediate introduction of two electro-
chemical processes accomplishing synthesis. The first
of these is the manufacture of carborundum by Mr.
Acheson. This grinding powder, which has proved itself
to be superior to emery, is now so well introduced that
the company manufacturing it has contracted for one
thousand horse-power at Niagara Falls.

The later discovery of the synthesis of calcium
carbide by means of the electric arc, while being simply
an accidental discovery, nevertheless opens far wider
possibilities and is the more attractive discoveiy to both
the chemist and electrician. The simple immersion of
this material in water produces acetylene gas, while
recent experiments indicate that a large number of
hydro-carbon compounds can be simply and economically
manufactured by similar processes. Moissan, by means
of his electrical furnace, has not only fused carbon and
many metallic oxides, producing by these means
diamonds and other gems, but has lately effected a
synthesis of hydro-cyanic acid, again presenting wide
possibilities to the electro-chemist.

Not only does this field of electro-chemistry present
an attractive branch of research, but also the electrical
generation and transmission of immense powers at low
cost admits of the possible commercial application of
electro-chemical processes, which up to the present time
have been hindered by the necessarily expensive means
of generating great quantities of energy.

A prophecy of what will be in the future of electro-
chemistry would be, indeed, idle, but the indications of
the field to prospective students and experimenters is
right and proper. More and more the advance of the
world is taking place by the applications of scientific

72

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 3.

methods, aud no field of study requires more thorough
training than electro-chemistry does in the science of
electricity aud the science of chemistry.

It may seem a difficult statement to

support, but it is nevertheless true that

on central electricians as a rule pay too little atten-

station tiou to the va]ue 0f electricity as a means

economy. of the transmission of power in their own
plants. It has only been within a very
few years that the machine shops of the electrical manu-
facturers have been equipped with electric motors, even
where such power was daily run to waste in the testing
of dynamos on lamp loads, aud to-day a general inspec-
tion of our best-equipped lighting and power plants will
show great disregard of the saving to be obtained by the
use of small electric motors in the place of small steam
engines.

Perhaps because it is difficult to ascertain the power
consumed in feed pumps, blast fans, hoisting engines and
other small motors, often used by a large plant in great
numbers, it is taken for granted that the steam they
use is only an inconsiderable quantity. But when we
reflect on the fact that a ten horse-power engine, running
under favorable conditions of load, will consume as much
steam per hour as will be required fur thirty or forty
horse-power delivered by the main engine of a well-
equipped plaut, we are bound to come to the belief that,
aside from steam leaks and pipe condensation, a number
of small engines about a plant may produce a very
appreciable difference in the annual coal bill. The
auxiliary engines of a generating plant rarely run
under favorable conditions of load, and the elements
of steam leaks and pipe condensation are by no means
inconsiderable items. Feed pumps and blast engines
must have ample capacity for the duty required at the
full load of the station, while the maximum duty is
rarely if ever required, and as a consequence the engines
driving them run under the worst possible condition of
economy ; the packing of valves and pistons being con-
tinually watersoaked are almost always in a leaky condi-
tion, while the condensation in the large steam pipes
with which they must be fitted, generally amounts to
much more than the steam required for furnishing power.

Aside from these actual steam losses, such connections
are a continual menace to the plant itself, and in more
than a few cases the breaking of an insignificant steam
pipe has occasioned troubles affecting the whole plant.

Several of the best English engineers have called
attention to the fact that such losses might be largely
diminished by the substitution of electric motors for all
kinds of auxiliary power in use about a central station,
but unfortunately for the best plaut economy, the idea-
does not seem to have taken root deeply iu this country.
The question as to what is to be done when the main
engines are shut down may be answered in the case of a
large plant, that the main engines are never shut down,
aud even in stations where the engines are shut down
while the boilers are still under steam, it yet holds that
there will be greater economv obtained from a single

engine driving a generator for the various motors iu use
than by the operation of many steam motors.

Steam boilers, feed pumps and other auxiliary engines
are time honored institutions. We know that they will
do the work day in and day out, and we know that they
are used in steam plants to the thousands of horse-power
while one is counting on the fingers the installations of
electrical apparatus for such service. Where lies the ad-
vantage and the great need for so strict an economy ?
Aside from the fact that every undertaking must be made
to pay a maximum net income, there remains for the
electrical engineer the continual exploration of new fields
of service.

The economical generation of electricity may solve
the perplexing problem of the power for town manufac-
tures. Were it possible for central stations to deliver
electricity at the terminals of the motors situated
throughout a manufacturing district at fifty, sixty or
even eight y dollars a horse-power per annum, there
would be few factories in any of our cities that could
afford to maintain their steam engines aud boilers. Some
of our present central stations are contracting for city arc
lights at approximately ninet}7 dollars per horse-power
per annum, and the charge includes the interest and de-
preciation on the lamps, besides the expense of carbons
and trimmers. But to supply a manufacturing city with
power for its factories, it is necessary to generate the
power much more economically than can be done by the
factories with their own steam plants. Iu the first place,
the ease of the transmission of electricity makes possible
the location of the generating plant in the most advan-
tageous position.

Condensing water and cheap coal haudliug may be
obtained where either or both are impossible to factory
engines. But though these are items of original advan-
tage, the competition between the power from a central
station and from a local plant must yield a profit to the
central station which can only be assured b}r an unheard
of economy iu operation. It is in the favor of plants for
the transmission of power by the means of electricity
that such economies are a possibility.

Not every city is fortunately located in reference to
water-power, but, on the other hand, very few manufac-
turing cities depending on steam power are so situated
that the greatest economy of steam generation and coal
handling may be practiced by the majority of power
users. This admits a considerable margin of profit to a
central station for the distribution of power, provided the
greatest economies are practiced at the generating sta-
tion. Dr. Emory has pointed out that water power is
not necessarily a cheap power on account of the great ex-
pense involved in the hydraulic plant, and if the power
developed by water must be transmitted to a great dis-
tance, it is unquestionable that iu man}- cases a cheaper
power could be distributed to a district from a steam
generating station. This most obvious field for the trans-
mission of energy has been little attempted. But a
future advance in the transmission of energy may be
profitable where electricity is generated by a steam plant,
and sold to the users of power throughout large manu-
facturing- cities.

Sept., 1S95.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

73

T^itorature.

The Practical Management ok Dynamos ami Motorsi
by Francis B. Crodker, Member A. I. E. E,, Professor
id Eleojriual Engineering Columbia College, and Schtyi.ek S.
YViieei.er, D. St., Bast President A.I. E. E ", Electrical Expert of
the Board of Electrical Control, New York City, etc. ; 206 pages,
12 mo. cloth, 09 figures, circuit diagrams, etc. Third edition, re-
vised and enlarged. Published by the D. Van Nostrand Com-
pany, New York, 1894. Price, Sfl.00.

The dynamo attendant who has for years laboriously
collected bits of information about dynamos and motors,
and has perchance arranged a scrap book that he may
" dig up " knowledge concerning the couuectious of this
or that machine, or that on the occurrence of trouble he
may find a way to apply a remedy, will welcome the
third edition of this work, the title of which tells just
what it is. It is not easy to think of a disease that a
dynamo or motor is heir to that is not diagnosed and
prescribed for in a clear, comprehensive way', and in a
than per that is satisfying. The plan of first conveying
an understanding of the normal functions of machines
is adhered to, in doing which numerous circuit diagrams
are given, together with many illustrations and descrip-
tions of practical detail peculiar to the dynamo room.
Knowing the normal state, any abnormal condition will
be readily perceived, from which is obtained the symp-
tom of trouble that, through Crocker and Wheeler's
book, will quickly suggest a cure. It is not a book deal-
ing with generalities, in typical cases or iu scientific-
terms. It deals only with conditions as found in the
dynamo rooms of central stations and isolated plants,
and, what is equally significant, it discusses these condi-
tions in plain words, whether the theme be the proper
splicing of belting, the making of efficiency tests, the
uses of the equalizer bar or the problem of running
alternators in parallel. Considerable space is also given
to the consideration of machines requiring especial direc-
tions, such as the Thomson-Houston, Brush, Wood,
Sperry and Excelsior ate dynamos, all connections,
details and peculiarities of which are shown.

The clearness, thoroughness and genuiue merit, to-
gether with its low cost, make the work one that should
become the text book of every person who has to do with
the actual care and operation of dynamos and motors.

ELECTRICITY IX PLANT GROWTH AND LIGHT
IN CHEMICAL DECOMPOSITION.

By Lieut. VV. Stuart-SmitB, I". S. N.

Many experiments have recently been made to de-
termine to what extent electricity can be utilized as an
accelerator of plant growth, these experiments covering
the use of earth currents which act directl}' as a stimu-
lant to the plaut roots, and the effect of the light from
powerful arcs acting upon the stems and leaves. The
results obtained by both these methods have been so
fully described iu the technical and daily press that outy
a brief mention of them will be made in this paper, the
object of which is to give a probable reason for the great
variation in plant growth from year to year when there
is but little apparent difference iu the climatic conditions,
and also to offer a possible explanation of the action of
light iu producing chemical decomposition.

For accelerating growth by the stimulating effects of
a current, the experiments have been made by placing
bare wires in the ground, located in such a manner that
the current, in passing from one to the other, would make
considerable use of the interlacing roots, which, on ac-
count of the sap, no doubt have a considerably higher

conductivity than the moist soil. The conductivity of
the sap is probably much higher than that of the sur-
rounding moist earth, owing to the many contained ele-
ments which are extracted from the soil. Tests in this
direction have been made by Prof. C. D. Warner at the ex-
perimental station at Amhurst, Mass., and " roots of cer-
tain vegetables and tops of others were found to be
greatly enlarged under this process. In fact, all plants
were found to be stimulated by a current of certain
strength. The physiological effect of electricity upon
plants, although not yet definitely understood, is proba-
bly similar to that experienced by animal tissues."

If the results of these experiments be confirmed, it
may point to a possible value of ordinary earth currents
in aiding vegetable growth. Such currents are known to
exist, and at times they become so severe as to interfere
witli the action of telegraph aud other electric lines us-
iug grouuded wires. They are particularly heavy
during so-called magnetic storms, but these, being
of short duration, can hardly bo expected to have much
effect on plant life. It is possible, however, that care-
fully kept records will show that over a large area dur-
ing some years the earth currents may be steadily much
above the normal, while during other seasons they may
be much below. If this is true, an examination of these
and crop records might possibly show heavy crops cor-
responding with heav}' average earth currents, and vice
versa. It is the writer's recollection that some corres-
pondence has been found between crops and sun spots,
and if this rests on good authority, earth currents may
be the cause, as magnetic disturbance on the earth cer-
tainly does correspond with activity in the sun.

The favorite method with experimenters is to make
use of the light from an electric arc which is known to
be rich in actinic rays. Many experimenters have en-
tered this field, and the result of their work is to prove
bej'ond a doubt that bj7 extending the time during which
plants are under the influence of light, much can be
done in the way of accelerating their growth, and even
causing fantastic growths. By regulating the distance
of the plants from the source of light, gradations of forc-
ing can be accomplished, and with plants close to power-
ful uncovered ares the tops can be forced to such abnor-
mal growth that the roots are unable to supply the requi-
site moisture, and the plaut dies. All this is the result
of the action of the actinic rays iu producing decomposi-
tion of carbonic acid, thus supplying the material nec-
essary for plant formation. An obvious extension of
these experiments is to provide screens which will absorb
the short invisible waves in a greater or less degree, and
which can be regulated in such a manner that various
portions of the space under cultivation cau be supplied
with actinic rays in accordance with the demand as de-
termined by examination of the growing plants. •

In hot-houses or confined spaces where the compo-
sition of the atmosphere can be regulated, the supplying
of greater or less quantities of carbonic acid, moisture,
etc., as well as regulating the actinic rays, will permit of
a much wider control, and the possibilities of control
will reach a maximum, if, in addition to the regulation of
light aud carbonic acid above ground, the roots are stim-
ulated to greater activity by the use of regulated earth
currents as above, care being taken to provide the soil
with such constituents as the various plants require iu
addition to the carbon received from the atmosphere.
Perhaps the greatest benefit will be derived by those
plants which require to be raised from the seed each year,
as perennial plants which are systematically subjected
to enforced growth may become finally weakened by
the process. Nevertheless, if the roots cau be properly
stimulated to keep up the supplies needed by the accel-
erated top, it is possible that the strength can be main-

74

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I. No. 3.

taiued and even increased to such an extent that many
times the normal size natural to the bush or plant can
be attained.

This leads again to the subject to discuss which this
paper was written, viz., the variation of crop growth
from year to year with but very little apparent difference
in climatic conditions. The experiments made conlirm
what has long been well known, viz., that actiuic rays
are requisite for plant growth, their office being to de-
compose carbonic acid, from which the supply of carbon
is obtained. Every photographer knows that from day
to day the amount of exposure necessary to make a good
negative is subject to wide variation, but probably com-
paratively few of those who makes pictures are aware
that such variation extends over entire seasons, and
these for many mouths at a time as much as four or five
times the normal exposure is necessary, while, at other
times, for many months perhaps, not more than one-fifth
the normal exposure is required. Nevertheless, such is
the case, and it is demonstrated that under conditions
that are the same, as .far as the eye cau detect, that is,
clear, blue sk3r, etc., the actinic power of sunlight, as re-
ceived at the earth's surface, may vary as much as 1000
per cent, for periods extending over as many months as
are required for a season's growth of crops. Since ac-
tinic power of light is necessary for the best growth of
plants, it is at once seen such wide variations must pro-
duce corresponding variations in vegetable growth.

It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the
causes producing such variations in the actinic power of
light. It may be caused by some absorbent in the
earth's atmosphere, or by some nebulous mass coming
between the earth and sun of such extreme attenuation
as to have no effect on the longer waves of the spectrum
aud yet be capable of absorbing the actinic rays, or,
which is more probable, it may be due to the sun itself,
the light having more actinic power during periods of
great activity, such as exists during the regular recurring-
sun spots. It was many years ago suggested by some
indefatigable collector and comparer of statistics that
crops seemed to bear some relation to sun activity, but
no explanation was attempted. The camera furnishes
means by which the activity of the light from year to
year can be readily recorded, and meteorological stations
would do well to make such observations a part of their
regular work, and at the same time carry on a syste-
matic study of earth currents. A study of such records
might make it possible to closely predict the condition
of the crops for a coming season.

Since the action of light in producing chemical de-
composition is of the utmost importance in plant growth,
some attempt to explain how light acts to produce such
decomposition may not be out of place in this connection.
Manifestly this action cannot be produced by any heat-
ing effect caused by the absorption of the light rays
since the rays at the red end of the spectrum, by the ab-
sorption of which most heat would be produced, have no
effect on the most sensitive photographic surface, where-
as the shortest rays at the other end of the spectrum
have a vigorous action in producing decomposition. In
what manner do short waves act to produce chemical
decomposition? If a string is vibrated in front of a
properly proportioned resonator, the volume of sound
produced will be magnified many times.

In the practical work of transmitting electricity
over long lines by means of alternating currents, it was
soon found that where a line had been built in such a
manner that it was believed that 10,000 or 20,000 volts
would not break down the insulation- yet the insulation
did break down in a most unaccountable manner, heavy
glass insulators being pierced by the disruptive action of

the current. A study of the conditions showed that with
a long line having the proper capacity, etc., the wave
period of the line might correspond either with the fun-
damental wave period of the dynamo or one of the har-
monics, in which case there would be strong resonance
effect, aud where the wave rebounded at the end of the
line the electromotive force would be many times that
originally impressed upon it with the result that rupture
of the insulation would take place.

Now it sieems to the writer that something akin to
this must occur wheu light produces chemical decompo-
sition and that there is a true resonance effect of suffi-
cient power to break down the force of chemical affinity.

The atoms composing the molecules of substances
have vibration periods different, perhaps, for every sub-
stance ; yet in some these will correspond with the
vibration periods of the shorter waves of the spectrum.
Where such substances are acted upon by light, we may
suppose that when the atoms reach the end of their
paths and begin to return, they are acted upon by the
actinic vibrations of the ether, and this, recurring with
each vibration the power required to arrest the motion
of the atoms at the ends of their paths is rapidly aug-
mented until finally they pass beyond the limits of sta-
bility and, the force of interatomic attraction being
overcome, the molecule goes to pieces and chemical
decomposition takes place by the action of ether vibra-
tions through the agency of a true resonance effect.
This breaking down of the .molecule will occur with a
smaller resonance the more unstable the substance, that
is, the less the chemical affinity of the atoms composing
the molecule ; or in other words the greater the tendency
of some atoms to pass beyond the limits of the controlling
attraction of the other atoms composing the molecule
and within the limits of attraction of other atoms with
which they more readily vibrate in unison. Stability or
unstability of molecules probably depends upon the
union of atoms having more or less agreement in the
times and extent of their vibration, a group of atoms
vibrating in approximately the same time and with the
same amplitude, probably being much more stable than
a group in which the atoms vibrate in very different
periods with widely varying amplitudes. With a group
in which the paths and periods correspond it is readily
seen that the atoms may always remain close together,
and thus continually exert upon each other a powerful
attraction tending to hold the group together, but if the
periods and paths greatly differ beats will occur, and
while at one time they will be vibrating close together,
after a brief period they will be vibrating at opposite
extremities of their paths, and the attractive force will
be very weak. At such times a small resonance effect,
acting upon either the atoms of long or those of short
period, would drive them beyond the range of attraction
of the other and produce chemical decomposition.

If the atoms set free by the decomposition do not
find other atoms with which they can vibrate more in
unison, they may reunite with those from which they
were liberated and reform the decomposed substance.
As an example it may be noted that silver salts, when not
in the presence of organic matter, will not blacken under
the influence of light. In the presence of organic sub-
stances the atoms set free unite readily with some
elements of the organic matter and bring free atoms in
a nascent state have in themselves great decomposing
power if their affinity for the elements of the organic
matter is slrong ; i. e., if, as they are projected (by
resonance effect) beyond the influence of the atoms with
which they were previously vibrating, they find them-
selves close to atoms of other molecules with which they
tend to vibrate in unison. ■•

Sept., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

75

There is probably a considerable rauge in the lower
spectrum where the wave periods are such as to be
capable of producing resonance in different substances.

It is not necessary for stability or unstability that
the atoms composing a molecule should have either
different periods or amplitudes of vibration as these
conditions may occur with precisely the same periods and
amplitudes for all atoms. This will be readily seen if
we consider two atoms together at any point of then-
paths and vibrating in the same direction, the same dis-
tance and in the same time. They are evidently always
in a position to exert a maximum attraction upon each
other, and the condition is that of extreme stability. If
they are together at any point of their paths and are
vibrating in opposite directions, the distance apart will
soon reach a maximum and the attraction will be a
minimum. Such substances are unstable. If the two
atoms vibrate in paths inclined to each other at any
angle between these limits of 0° and 180° the stability
will be greater or less as the angle is small or great.
Obviously in the first case resonance will not tend to
produce decomposition, yet, as the amplitudes of vibra-
tions of all atoms will be increased, the volume of the
substance will be increased or the action of the actinic
rays will be to produce expansion of the mass in pre-
cisely the same mauner as heat acts by increasing the
amplitude of vibration and hence the volume of the
mass. This can be tested by using an instrument such
as Edison's tassimeter and Hashing the short rays of
the spectrum upon it, care being taken to eliminate the
heat rays.

The wave lengths of the different parts of the spec-
trum can be measured, aud by determining what waves are
capable of producing actinic resonance in different sub-
stances it may be possible to determine the natural
vibration periods of various atoms, aud ultimately the
dimensions of the atoms.

Another thought which came here is the possibility
of determining whether all the so-called elements are in
reality composed of one primary substance. If it could be
shown that ether vibration of the same period produces a
maximum resonance effect in all substances, it would be
strong evidence that the ultimate atoms composing all
substances are the same. As to the other so-called ele-
ments they may have molecules composed of primary
atoms so grouped that their relations cannot be altered.

For instance, suppose some molecules were each
composed of two primary atoms vibrating in unchangiug
relation, i. e., suppose they are close together at one
poiut of their path and maintain this distance unchanged
in all points of their paths. Manifestly the attraction
between them will be a maximum at all times, and this
might be so strong that no outside influence could vary
the distance apart. Such a combination would evidently
constitute an undecomposable substance and appear as
an element.

Similarly three atoms might be so combiued to form
another apparent element and four atoms might form a
group of allied apparent elements; for instance, if the four
were regularly placed with reference to each other they
might Constitute a molecule of oxygen, a slightly different
arrangement, say two groups of two each, might con-
stitute sulphur and auother combination consisting of a
group of three and one singly might constitute another
element of the same family. The number of atoms and
the grouping would undoutedly control the valency of
the substance. Various forms of the same substance
might be produced by slight possible variations of the
groupings of the atoms constituting a molecule. For
instance, if four atoms regularly placed wita a given
distance between them constituted oxygen, then ozone
might be produced by a slight increase or decrease in

distance apart of the atoms so as to slightly vary the
attraction between them aud their combined attraction
on groups composing other elements. Molecules of de-
composable substances would be composed of two or
more such stable groups vibrating in paths which made
greater or less angles with others, so that the application
of a force which would cause them to move further
along in their piths would produce a separation and
ultimately decomposition, by bringing one or the other
of the stable groups within the strong influence of some
other group. Two or more stable groups united to form
a molecule of decomposable substance could never vib-
rate parallel to each other and in the same direction, in
ther words the angle between their paths could never
be zero.

The ideas here expressed may be more clearly rep-
resented by means of the accompanying diagram :

Suppose 0 to be the origin towards which all the
atoms of a simple molecule, or all the elements of a
compound molecule tend to vibrate. If two atoms 0 A
aud 0 B vibrate always parallel to each other, in the
same period, aud with the same amplitude, manifestly
the attractive force acting between them will remain
absolutely unchanged whatever the period or amplitude
may be. They will form an absolutely stable molecule
and appear as an ultimate element. Similarly the
three atoms vibrating in the direction 0 D would form
another absolutely stable molecule and appear as another
element.

If the molecules vibrating in 0 A aud 0 D have a
mutual control r>r o-r.i, other's motion they will form a

ELfieriucmr in Chemical Decomposition.

molecule of a compound substance, but iu this case their
paths must make with each other an angle ^4 0 D.

This compound molecule will be instable equilibium
if its constituent molecules do not vibrate beyond certain
limits, say those represented by the full lines, but if a
resonance effect projected them to the points A' and Dl
the distance between them would be increased and the
mutually exerted force decreased. If no other substance
was present they would return to their former stable
state, when the cause producing the resonance was
removed, but in the presence of other substances there
would be a redistribution of molecules and new com-
pounds be formed. Manifestly if the angle A 0 D was
very small a very considerable increase in the amplitude
would but slightly increase the distance apart of the
molecules, and hence produce but little diminution in
the inter-molecular force of attraction. The substance
formed, though decomposable by very strong forces,
would still be very stable. As the angle increased the
stability would become less and less until finally if the
group 0 D was vibrating in a direction 0 C, in
opposition to O A, the stability would be very slight
and a very small increase in the amplitude of vibration
or the approach of another molecule which vibrates at a
smaller angle with either 0 A or 0 D would overcome
the force uniting 0 A and 0 D and decomposition would
take place.

If the molecules in 0 A aud 0 D vibrated in
different periods or had different amplitudes or both,
then they might vibrate iu the same direction and still
unite to form compound substances. An ether wave of

76

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY

[Vol. I, No.

a. certain period would then affect one more than the
other and cause a resonance effect tending to break
down the compound molecule. It seems manifest that
the natural vib.-atiou period of all atoms and molecules
closely correspond with the periods of the ether waves
near ihe violet end of the spectrum.
Berkeley, Calif., Sept. 13, '95.

"AS OTHERS SEE TJS."

THE PELTON7 WATER WHEEL.

"What we feared has come to pass. Wo predicted a
month ago that the similarity in name and appearance
of The Electrieal Journal, (San Francisco) and the Elec-
trical Journal, (Chicago) would prove "a constant source
of annoyance." We pointed out to our young contem-
poraries that a change in name on the part of one of
them was desirable or at least that they should make a

geographical distinction in their titles [but] the

Electrical Journal of Chicago manifested an acrimonious
determination to retain the name selected by the new
San Francisco review. This course is ill-advised and

will result in confusion "Electricity" of London

reviews the first number of The Electrical Journal (San
Francisco) and says: '' The Editors are Dr. Perrine and
Mr. G. P. Low; the aims are 'honesty, breadth and
helpfulness.' Naturally, the National School of Elec-
tricity is regarded favorably." There you are; the organ
of the National School of Electricity is mixed up with

the new electrical review of the Pacific Slope What

could be more confusing ? — Western Electrician, Chicago.

" The Electrical Journal " is a new journal pub-
lished in this city. Two numbers have made their ap-
pearance, and are very creditable specimens. According
to an announcement made in the August number, the
name of the publication is to be changed to the The
Journal of Electricity. The Journal is edited by F.
A. C. Perrine, D. Sc, and George P. Low. It is devoted
to the development and exposition of the electrical in-
terests of the Goast. The leading article in the August
number is a learned and well-written article on " Steep
Gradients on Electric Roads," by Lieutenant W. Stuart-
Smith, U. S. N., the well-known electrical engineer of
this city. — San Francisco Report.

We note the advent of The Electrical Journal pub-
ited by our friends, Dr. F. A. C. Perrine and George P.
Low, and published monthly in San Francisco. The
newcomer candidly admits that " our newsy friend, the
Electrical Review, is entitled to the distinction of being
' the oldest weekly '," and states as its motto that The
Electrical Journal is to be known as " the newest electric
cal publication in America." We wish the new venture
success. Judging from the excellence of its book re-
views, we opine it will pay special attention to this de-
partment.— Electrical Review (N. Y.)..

The Electrical Journal, a recent publication devoted
to electrical interests, came to our desk. We thank Mr.
Geo. P. Low, and wish him every success. This paper
should receive the support of every underwriter, for it
contains matter exceptionally valuable to our professsion.
Mr. Low has given able service to this brauch of under-
writing, and his paper will undoubtedly reflect the abil-
ity of which its editor is possessed. The subscription
price is one dollar per year. — Rambling Notes, San Fran-
cisco.

Another promisiug publication in magazine form
appears for its share of advertising patronage and to aid
in disseminating electrical information through the West.
The Electrical Journal is published monthly in San Fran-
cisco, Cal. It has a good appearance, and its principles,
as outlined in the first issue, se3in sound. — Scientific
Machinist, Cleveland, O.

The Pel ton water wheel is what may be termed an
impulse reaction wheel, the power of which is derived
from the pressure afforded by a head of water, supplied
by a line of pipe, discharged upon it through a small
nozzle, the size of said nozzle being proportioned to the
amount and head of water available, and to the power
required. The manner of utilizing this pressure is the
distinguishing feature of the invention and the secret of
ts success.

The plane of the wheel is vertical, turning upon a
horizontal axis, the bearings of which are mounted and
fixed upon a wooden or metal frame, to which also the
uozzle is attached, making the machine, as a whole, self-
contained. The bearings are accessible at all times for
examination and lubrication, aud are easily protected
from water and grit. Over the wheel, but not touching
it anywhere, is placed a cover for withholding the sling
of the water from the wheel, and directing it vertically
downward to the tail-race, whence all waste is carried
away. It has a number of iron buckets or cups
fastened to its periphery, each provided with a wedge
dividing the jet (which is applied taugentially ) into two
parts, one turning to the right, the other to the left,
(shown in section in Fig. 3.), the direction of both being
almost completely reversed before the water leaves the
bucket. To facilitate the escape of the spent water and
to utilize all of the head, the stream is usually applied
to the lower side of the wheel. The object in this, as in
other wheels, is to receive the water without shock, to
discharge it without velocity, aud to apply the energy
thus liberated to turning the wheel in the most efficient
manner, f

The extreme simplicity of these wheels renders them
strong and durable, not liable to get out of order, and
euables them to be run with a minimum of wear.
Breakage seldom occurs ; the wear is confined to the
large shaft bearings and to the vane surfaces over which
the water passes. There are no running water joints to
preserve, and the nozzle is of the simplest and most
efficient form, the cylindrical jet being commonly used.
The path of the water in the bucket is short, reducing
friction to a minimum. If the water carries abrasive
materials, the effect is sometimes seen on the wetted sur-
faces, but the wear is slight, and never detrimental to
efficiency. Then again, all the wheels above two feet in
diameter have the buckets bolted ou,so that one or more
may be easily and quickly replaced without disturbing
the installation. This is an advantage which is every-
where appreciated, especially in localities far removed
from industrial centers.

The tendency of modern machine practice is to in-
troduce direct connections between the motor and the
machine to be driven, thus simplifying the parts, reduc-
ing first cost and maiutenauce, and economizing space.
The construction of the Pelton wheel enables this to be

"Being an abstract of the report of the Franklin Institute, through its
Committee on Science and the Arts, on the invention of Lester A. Pelton.

fin the Comstock mines at Virginia City, Nevada, are located six wheels,
each weighing 220 pounds, developing 12o horse-power each with a stream
five-eighth inch diameter, and a head of 1,680 feet. They are forty inches in
diameter, are made of phosphor-bronze, and run at a'speed of 900 revolu-
tions per minute. In one of the famous Comstock mines at Virginia Cily,
Nevada, is a thirty-six inch Pelton wheel, made of a solid steel disc, with
phosphor-bronze buckets securely riveted to the rim. It is located at the
Sutro Tunnel level of the California and Cuusolidated Virginia shaft, 1,640
feet below the surface. In addition to the head afforded bv the depth of the
shaft, the pipe is connected to the line of the Gold Hill Water Company,
which carries a head of 460 feet, giving the wheel a vertical head of 2,100
feet, equivalent to a pressure of '.ill pounds. The water, after passing over
the wheel, is carried out through the tunnel, four miles in ength. The
wheel runs at 1,150 revolutions, which gives it a peripheral velocity of 10,804
feet per minute, or about 120 miles per hour. The construction of the wheel
amply provides for the centrifugal strain given by the velocity of the water,
running without load, when it would attain the enormous "speed of 21,608
feet per minute, equal to about 240 miles per hour.

Sept., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

77

done in all eases where the head, which controls the
speed of the buckets, is so related to the rotative speed
as to give a wheel of reasonable dimensions. The min-
imum diameter depends, lo a certain extent, upon the
quantity of water to be used ; if this is large, it may be
necessary to use more than one jet on the wheel, or to
use two or more wheels on the same shaft, to obtaiu the
recpiired speed. -The application of several jets to a
wheel does not impair the efficiency when it is carried
out according to well-known rules. The cases and foun-
dations are light aud simple, there are no expensive pen-
stocks or draft-tubes, no inconveuient means of trans-
mission, no heavy stonework.

Turbines have a distinctive advantage under very
low heads, because of the large quantity of water which
they can use, but under high pressure the speed becomes
excessive or destructive. A free jet or tangential wheel
may run to the limit fixed by the strength of the mate-
rial without injury, there being no wear except in the
bearings. The construction of these wheels indicates
that a high efficiency may be obtained when running
with a full or reduced water supply, and such has been
found to be the case. Buckets are designed for a maxi-
mum diameter of stream, without reference to the head,
hut the only objection to a very much smaller stream
would be the disproportion of weights and friction sur-
faces, an ojectiou which is of very little practical impor-

bodily around the shaft. This motion, which is very
sensitive, is made to open or close a butterfly valve in
the service pipe. Safety stops are provided at full open
and full shut, to prevent the governor from binding the
valve and possibly breaking something. This method is
advantageous in electric lighting, where there is a de-
mand for close governing.

Nothing contributes so much to the prosperity of
mining and manufacturing as cheap power. Scores of
the largest producing and most profitable mines ou the
Pacifit Coast could not be worked to-day but for
this, as most of our heaviest mining operations are based
upon handling a large amount of low-grade ore in a most
economical way. Another fact indicating the change
wrought by the introduction of these wheels is the high
price that low-grade mines are commanding when so sit-
uated that water power could be availed of; these mines,
a few years ago could hardly be given awa}T. Where
the power developed by the wheel cannot be applied di-
rectly to the machinery to be operated, electrical trans-
mission can cover the intervening space, and so in time
these easily established links "will connect many of the
great industrial establishments with these water powers
now by this wheel made economically available.

The remarkable efficiency of the Pelton wheel is a
surprise to all who see it in operation for the first time.
That a wheel so small as to almost escape observation

Pi,.-. 1 Fio\2. io\ 3.

Figures 1, 2 and 3.— Illustrating the Action of a Jet op "Water Striking Various Surfaces.

tance. This method is adopted when the quantity of
water varies, the minimum stream being often ouly
twenty-five per cent, of the maximum. This can be
done with no appreciable loss of efficiency, in strong con-
trast with the turbine, with its variation of twenty per
cent., more or less, under varying gates.

In many cases of use in the mountains there is no
need for governing devices : ou stamp-mills, for instance,
when such are necessary, the method used will depend
on the water supply. If a liberal use of water is allow-
able, a nozzle is used having a ball and socket joint,
which permits the stream to be partly or entirely de-
flected below the buckets. The centrifugal friction gov-
ernor has been used to a very great extent, the balls act-
ing on a double-geared bevel friction wheel, which opens
or closes a butterfly valve.

When a constant speed can be obtained from a source
outside of the wheel itself, as from an independent motor,
the differential governor is available. This consists of
four miter gear wheels in mesh, each forming the side of
a square ; two opposite gears being loose on the shaft
and driven in opposite directions by pullies and belts ;
the remaining two running free on studs which project
from a hub fastened to the same shaft. So long as the
pulleys run at the same speed there will be a simple ro-
tation of the gears on their axes; but if one runs faster
than the other, the gears on the studs will be revolved

should be capable of driving the large amount of ma-
chinery that is often attached to it is a perpetual won-
der even to those long accustomed to its use.

These wheels are made in sizes from four inches in
diameter, and weighing, with case, twenty pounds, for
driving sewing machines, dental apparatus, and the like,
to wheels of five, six, eight, ten and in some cases even
twenty feet in diameter. Wheels of such large diameter
are not for the purpose of increase of power, but to re-
duce speed so as to make a direct connection to the
shafts of the machinery they are to operate, as in the
case of pumps, compressors, etc. By applying three,
four or five streams to a wheel of ten to fifteen feet in
diameter, from 3000 to 5000 horse power can be obtained
from a single wheel under a head of 150 feet. This
illustrates the extreme flexibility of the system and its
application to varying conditions, Units of power,
speed, etc.

In considering the conditions necessary to a high
efficiency in the jet wheel, it will be found that the main
conditions are as follows : (1) The jet should enter the
bucket without shock and flow over easy curves until its
direction is reversed ; Ql) The surface over which the
water passes should be small, to reduce skin friction ;
(3) The speed of the wheel should be such that the water
will leave the bucket without velocity.

Fig. 1 shows the action of a jet of water striking a

73

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I No. 3.

flat plate at right augles. It will be seen that the water
divides and shows a tendency to form a wedge of still
water. This is what may be termed " dead " water,
that is, water which has lost its impelling force. In a
wheel having this form of vane, there is a tendency to
form such a wedge on each vane at every revolution ;
there can be no smooth flowing of the stream, but a con-
tinual turbulence resulting in great loss of energy, and
the amount of this will be greater than the loss of part
of the energy contained in the water represented by the
wedges. It will be seen, also, that the direction of dis-
charge precludes a complete stoppage of the water, the
highest theoretical efficiency being fifty per cent., exclud-
ing the losses from friction, turbulence etc. In the
simple curved buckets shown in Fig. 2 will be found
the same condition as to a wedge formation as was
shown on the flat plate, the amount of water being even
greater. There is, however, a reversal of the stream
which allows it to be almost completely checked. This
is an important advantage, as may be seen in a compar-
ison of the efficiencies obtained.

Fig. 3 shows a third form, in which the wedge has
been made a part of the bucket itself, thus avoiding the
loss due to the water-wedge and to turbulence. Impact
has been reduced to a minimum, and the bucket forms
part of an impulse wheel. This is the Pelton, which has
shown a higher efficiency than any other jet wheel, and
which is now replacing the older forms. In wheels hav-
ing flat radial vanes or buckets, and a tangential applica-
tion of the stream, the angle of impingement varies as
the vanes pass through the jet, but there is at all times
an impact, resulting in a loss. In contrast with this is
the impulse wheel, in which the water enters the vanes
or buckets without shock, and is led in the proper path,
there being no coercion of the water, but a, smooth, reg-
ular flow. In the impact wheel there is a blow struck,
while in the impulse there is a push.

To make such tests of this wheel as would be con-
vincing and sa-tisfactory, the committee charged with
this investigation found to be impracticable. In lieu
thereof the committee has found it necessary to rely
upon the corroborative results of tests made by men
esteemed by the committee as fully competent to do such
work.

In the test's of this wheel made by Mr. Boss E.
Browne, at the University of California, " the diameter
of the wheel was fifteen inches, the width of the bucket
1.5 inch, and the efficiencies shown under a fifty-foot
head were as follows :

" With a seven-sixteenth nozzle, 82.6 per cent.; with
a three-eighth nozzle, 82.5 per cent. The efficiency was
determined under as low a head as eight feet, still show-
ing an efficiency of 73 per cent. It is proper to state
that the wheel with which the above tests were made
was constructed in the workshop of the University, and
did not conform wholly to the manufacturer's standard.
The size of the bucket was too small, and did not do
full justice to the wheel, owing to the difficulty of shap-
ing the curves accurately. It is claimed that tests, with
larger wheels have given larger efficiencies, and I have
no reason for doubting the claim."

From all that has preceded, the conclusion is reached
that the Pelton water wheel possesses all the advantages
of simplicity of construction, economy of installation
and maintenance, adaptability to extreme heads of water,
of transportability, of close and sensitive automatic reg-
ulation and of high speeds, which belong to other wheels
of its class that have preceded it, but that in point of
efficienc3' it has excelled all others.

The Institute, therefore, deems the Pelton water
wheel worthy of the Elliott Cresson Medal, and hereby
awards the same to Lester A. Pelton, the inventor.

THE SCIENCE OF GOOD LIGHT.

Many retail stores are dark and gloomy looking,
and what a contrast they are to the brilliantly lighted
ones, writes Frank T. Green in the Pacific Druggist and
Physician. The peculiar part is, continues the writer,
that the owners of these same dark stores pay just as
heavy bills for light as the former. It is the color of the
surroundings that makes the great difference. The
world associates dark interiors which lack richness,
with gloom, and light surroundings with cheerfulness.
The writer asserts there are some colors which are diffi-
cult to illuminate, foremost among which are those ap-
proaching black. A few years ago it was quite the fash-
ion to have the fittings of stores ebonized and decorated
with narrow tracings and lines of gold. A Japanese
effect was aimed at, but the bull's-eye of gloom was
struck. One of the most trying shades to properly illu-
minate is terra-cotta. It is difficult, if not impossible,
for the color seems to absorb every ray cast upon it.
The shadows behind the cornices are heavy ones, and
even the high lights emit but a feeble glow, reminding
one of reflected firelight. Such a color for a library, ac-
companied by rich draperies, might be admissible, but
in a store it is a most trying one after nightfall. Creams,
whites, light grays and pinks are always cheerful, and
the shadows warm looking. Besides, with the empire
patterns now in vogue, the paler tints harmonize pleas-
antly.

How many of us have noticed the glare of a white
store at night. Every ray gets its full value, for it is
reflected without absorption. Those, especially, who
have dark fittings in natural wood need light floors,
walls and ceilings to offset the effect. The colors should
harmonize, however, and the contrasts should not be too
severe.

People do not like to enter a black place at night,
and in passing stores if one takes the time to observe,
the bright effects can often be ascribed to cleanliness and
color, and not always to the number of electric lights or
gas burners as would at first seem.

ELECTBICITY vs. SOUND IN A FOOTRACE.

That electricity can easily" outstrip sound in a foot
race, is well known, but as good an illustration of it as
was ever furnished, occurred at the time of the last
powder explosion at Pinole, observes a California con-
temporary. At the instant when the great blow-up
occurred, the railroad telegraph operator at Pinole, and
at Sixteenth st., Oakland, were talking over the wire.
The Pinole operator broke the thread of the conversa-
tion to rap on the key — ''Powder works blown up!"
When he received that the Oakland, operator had felt
no shock, and he thought the explosion must have been
a small one, but after waiting about sixty seconds the
concussion of the atmosphere came along, and it was
violent enough to satisfy him that the blast was no
small affair.

The American Institute of Electrical Engineers has
issued a neat vest-pocket pamphlet, which has been pre-
pared to meet the demand for information regarding the
work of the Institute, and how to join it. It also con-
tains a catalogue of membership, and its mission is for
circulation among non-members to whom it will be sent
gratuitously upon application to Ralph W Pope, Secre-
tary, 26 Cortlaudt street, New York City.

The appointment of Dr. F. A. C. Perrine by the
Advisory Council as Local Secretary of the Institute for
San Francisco and vicinity has been announced.

Sept., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

79

^Kq ^rade.

In responding to advertisements in this publication, please
mention The Journal of Electricity.

AN ENORMOUS ILLUMINATED SIGN.

A feature of the Electric Carnival which excited the
wonderment of visitors and the interest of electricians
was the enormous sign advertising Euhstaller's Steam
Beer and which was swung across K Street. This sign
contained 1010, 16 candle-power lamps ; there being 505
on each side. It was fifty-one feet nine inches in length
with a maximum height of twelve feet three inches,

the total weight being 2150 pounds, which it is claimed
makes it the heaviest Hash sign yet constructed.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in effecting
suitable anchorage to the roofs of the buildings sup-
porting the sigu, and the method finally adopted
consisted of carrying the anchor lines to other buildings
for more rigid support. The wording of the sign, which
appears in the accompanying illustration, was so
arranged that, by means of carbon break switches operated
by an electric motor, the words appeared in their respec-
tive colorings consecutively, then flashing on the entire
sigu.

The contract for the construction, erection and
operation of this sign was awarded to Frank Lyman,
electrical contractor of 421 J street, Sacramento, whose
handiwork was also shown in the construction of the
decorative circuits of the State Capitol and surrounding
grounds, the May Pole, The Native Sons' Bear, and many
mercantile displays.

WIRING EXTRAORDINARY.

The Electric Carnival presented many opportunities
for the exercise of the highest art in electro-decorative
work, prominent among which were the magnificent
floats designed and constructed through the efforts of
the Carnival Committee. The electrical effects in the
three principal pieces, viz.: "The National," "State" and
"Fruit and Flower" floats, which are described elsewhere
in this issue, were installed by Messrs. Scott & Black,
electrical contractors of 303 J street, Sacramento. This
firm is one of the leading wiring concerns of the capital
city, and it is safe to state that the bouquets, sprays,
wreaths and razzle-dazzles placed on the floats by them
formed the daintiest and most fascinating features of the
Carnival Parade.

Among the other works installed by Messrs. Scott &
Black were the Arches at 7th and J streets, and 4th and
K streets, the illuminated sign "Welcome," and of the
mercantile displays, those placed about the establish-
ments of Hale Bros. & Co., Hall, Luhrs & Co., Shaw,
Ingram, Batcher & Co., Waterhouse & Lester and at
the Sutter Club are deserving of special mention because
of their artistic workmanship.

A NEW RAILWAY SUPPLY HOUSE.

Messers C. B. Kaufman & Co. have secured store-
rooms on the ground floor at 525 Mission Street, San
Francisco, where they have started in business as a
general railway supply house. The firm has in stock,
ready for immediate shipment, railway supplies, both
steam and electric, of all descriptions, from tie-plates and
rails to trolley harps, hangers and insulated wires. Mr.
Kaufman has been connected with the well-known
electric railway supply firm of Reger & Atwater for some
time past, and his many friends will be pleased to learn
of his new departure.

A TOWER OF LIGHT.

An attractive feature of the California State Fair at
Sacramento was the Tower of Light erected near the
center of the pavilion by the Capital Gas Company and
which is shown in the accompanying illustration. It was
a substantial structure built of gas piping and contained
four rows of lights as shown in the engi-aving, the lower
one containing on one side the initials "C. G. Co.," and

on the other sides respectively, wrere the words " Light,"
"Heat," and "Power." The two middle tiers were
brilliantly illuminated with Wellsbach burners and the
upper tier with incandescent electric lamps. The photo-
graph from which the illustration was taken was made
b}r Varney, the leading Sacramento photographer, and
presents an excellent specimen of night photography,
the light furnished being from the tower alone.

8o

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY,

[Vol. I, No. 3.

^Qfiorts of the Jffonth.

QOnnVINKdTION.

San Diego, Cal. — Chas. D. Long has applied for a franchise
for a line of telephone poles and wires from Descanso to the Pine
Valley Quartz Mill.

Great Falls, Mont. — The Lewistown and Great Falls Tele-
phone Company has been incorporated, with Gold T. Curtis, S.
S. Hobson and J. F. Armington as trustees, and $10,000 capital.

Seattle, Wash. — The changing-over of the exchanges of the
Sunset Telephone and Telegraph Company from multiple switch-
boards to the express system, which has been in progress since
last May, is practically completed.

Jackson, Cal. — A franchise has been granted the Capital
Telephone and Telegraph Company for all streets, alleys, avenues
and public grounds and ways of all unincorporated cities, towns
and villages within Amador County.

Eureka, Cal. — The Sunset Telephone and. Telegraph Com-
pany is building a new pole line for metallic service from this
place to Fortuna., Rohnerville and Alton, and the circuits to Areata
and Fernrtale will be the next to be made metallic.

Santa Cruz, Cal. — The Popular Telephone Company has
wired the city for 125 subscribers, and orders have been taken for
enough more to make 200 subscribers when the new exchange
opens. About 4000 feet of 50-pair lead-covered cable has been
run, and Columbia instruments will be used. The installation
was made under the supervision of H. N. Snyder.

LITIQdTION.

San Francisco. — In the suit of Mary L. Keller vs. the
Market Street Railway Company, Justice Carroll held that a
passenger must demand a transfer at the time of paying fare,
otherwise the company is not required to issue same.

San Francisco. — On August 23d the Bank of California
brought suit in the Superior Court against C. C. Butler, Behrend
Joost, Fabian Joost, J. A. Buck and N. Ohlandtto recover
$15,000 alleged to be due on a promissory note given by the S. S.
Construction Company to the San Mateo and San Francisco
Railroad Company. By the latter company it was assigned to
the plaintiff.

Stockton, Cal. — The Boai-d of Directors of the San Joaquin
County Hospital has declined to accept the Doak Gas Engines
and the electric lighting plant unless the Doak Company will
furnish an indemnity bond to cover any possible damages that
may be recovered from the county by the Union Gas Engine
Company, which has begun suit against Doak for alleged in-
fringement of its patent.

San Francisco, Cal. — The City and County Attorney, in re-
sponse to a request from the Board of Supervisors, has rendered
the opinion that such board does not hold the power to impose a
municipal license upon telegraph companies operating interstate
lines, but that this is not intended to apply to telegraph com-
panies operating wholly within this State if there are any such
doing business in this city.

ILUmiN/ITION.

Honolulu, H. I. — The Hawaiian Electric Company, operat-
ing arcs, incandescent and power circuits, is supplementing its
works by the addition of an ice plant.

Cripple Creek, Col. — J. W. Bailey has purchased two 40-
kilowatt General Electric generators, direct connected to ideal
engines to be used for lighting his gold extraction plant ; also an
electrolytic dynamo.

Weaverville, Cal. — There are four electric lighting plants in
Trinity County, viz. : At the Brown Bear Mine, Deadwood; La
Grange Mine, Oregon Gulch Mountain ; Cis Fse Mine, Junction
City, and in Weaverville.

Salt Lake City, Utah. — The city wiring for the Citizens'
Electric Light Company is practically "completed, and satisfactory
progress is being made at the new power house. The four boilers
have been placed and the engine is now being erected.

Salt Lake City, Utah. — Two large generators have been or-
dered to relieve the machines of the Salt Lake and Ogden Gas
and Electric Company, and which will ultimately be used in con-
nection with the Big Cottonwood transmission.

San Jose, Cal. — -The Electric Improvement Company expects
to have 15 miles of gas mains laid and to have a new gas plant
that will furnish gas for $2 or less per thousand feet, erected and
in full operation in less than a year.

Martinez, Cal.— Johnson Bros, have submitted a proposition
to the Board of Trustees offering to furnish fiftv incandescent
lights for one year for $1 .85 each per month ; thirty lights for six
months at $2.25 each per month ; seven arc lights for a year at
$11 per month, or for six months at $12 per month.

Chico, Cal. — Dr. H.H.Clark is negotiating with Surveyor
McGavin for the purchase of the latter's water right on Chico
creek, with which to operate the new electric light plant.

Flagstaff, Ariz. — The Flagstaff Electric Light Company,
having received its franchise, has begun construction, and expects
to furnish lights by October 1st. Its Directors are D. Babbitt, D.
M. Riordan, Chas. Canall, T. A. Riordan and F. W. Sisson.

Denver, Col. — A 50-kilowatt General Electric incandescent
dynamo direct connected to an Ideal engine, and one 25-kilowatt
General Electric generator, similarly connected, have been
bought by the Northern Finance Company for the Felhauser
Building.

Berkeley', Cal. — Now that the new charter has been adopt-
ed, the Board of Trustees has more funds on hand for street
lighting purposes, and will supplement the present arc lights by
'61 candle-power incandescents, about 100 of which will first be
placed.

Spokane, Wash. — J. B. Fisken has resigned the general man-
agership of the Washington Water Power Company, controlling
the Edison Illuminating Company and various street railway sys-
tems of this city, and has been appointed superintendent of the
Consumers' Light and Power Company.

San Jose, Cal. — The contract for lighting the city by arc-
lamps for the year beginning October 1st has been awarded to the
San Jose Light and Power Company, its bid being $8.90 per lamp
per month, against the bid of $8.94 per lamp per month submitted
by the Electric Improvement Company.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Edison Light and Power Com-
pany has reduced the prices of supplies to consumers as follows:
Sixteen-candle-power incandescent Edison lamps, from 25 cents
to 20 cents each ; Edison key-sockets, from 20 cents to 16 cents ;
Edison keyless sockets, from 18 cents to 13 cents.

San Francisco, Cal. — A new 2x400 kilowatt Edison multipo-
lar generator, direct connected to a triple expansion marine type
engine, has been installed in Station C of the Edison Light and
Power Company, which now contains five 2x200 kilowatt genera-
tors and one 2x100 kilowatt generator of the type defined.

Palouse, Wash. — The new electric light plant will be located
in the roller flour mill, where surplus water-power is available.
The projectors have secured an option on the dynamos of the old
plant and expect to furnish incandescent light at about fifty per
cent, of the rate formerly asked.

Phcsnix, Ariz. — The sale of the Gardiner electric light plant
to the Phoenix Light and FuelConipany has been consummated,
the purchase price being $10,000. Tne Phoenix power house is to
be enlarged and the plants consolidated and increased by the ad-
dition of new steam and electric machine^.

Santa Ana, Cal. — The City Trustees have rejected the bid
of CM. Holmes of the Santa Ana Gas and Electric Company for
lighting the city for one year, because the bid was so worded that it
was obligatory upon the city to purchase the electric plant for
$6,000 if the city refused to renew the contract at its expiration.

Riverside, Cal. — The City Trustees would like to bring in
power for the proposed municipal lighting plant from a water-
power eighteen miles distant, but do not see their way clear to do
so and furnish the 125 arc lights and the incandescent system
desired with the $45,000 that has been voted for the municipal
plant.

Victora, B. C. — Mr. Hutchinson, superintendent of the
new municipal electric light plant, has rendered a report on a
5-hour test of the steam plant iu the station, as follows: Coal
used, 1450 lbs. ; coal per hour used, 290 lbs. ; average horse-power
developed 158.39; coal used per horse-power per hour, 1.83 lbs. ;
one boiler was used.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The Board of Supervisors has adopted
an ordinance imposing a license tax on electric lighting com-
panies as foliows : Plants operating 500 lights or less, $2 per
month; those operating 500 lights and less than 1000 lights, $10
per month; those operating 1000 and over, $15 per month. The
above includes both arc and incandescent lights.

San Francisco, Cal. — A committee of the Union for Prac-
tical Progress has addressed a letter to the Board of Supervisors
asking that a special election be held to determine whether or not
the people should own their own water works, gas works and
electric lighting plants, either by buying the existing works from
present owners at an appraised valuation or by constructing new
works.

Flagstaff, Ariz. — This place is being wired for electric lights,
and the new plant will be installed in the old school house as soon
as the engine and dynamo arrive from the East. Incandescent
lighting sendee will be rendered on "flat" rates of $1.10 per
month for 11 o'clock lamps and $1.50 per month for lights burn-
ing until 1 A. m,

Santa Ana, Cal. — The Santa Ana Gas and Electric Company
proposes to move its plant at once from this city to Olive, where
water power is available, provided it receives the contract for
lighting the city with forty-arc lamps. It will require about
50,000 feet of wire to "locate "the new lamps, and about 80,000
feet to connect with Olive.

Sept., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

Sr

San Francisco, Cal. — The Pacific Coast office of the West-
inghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company reports the sale
of the following apparatus during the month: 1 00-K. W., A. C.
generator with switchboard, apparatus and converters complete;
1 20— light arc plant complete ; l-2Lo horse-power, 125 volt
generator; 1 60-light, 125-volt generator; Isolated meter
orders aggregating 610 lamps.

Forest Grove, Or — The commissioners appointed to pre-
pare estimates of tire cost of buying the electric light plant and
putting in wells and pumps to be operated in connection with it,
have reported that the total cost of the proposed improvement
will be $30,000. The cost of the electric light plant complete is
estimated at $12,000. The report was adopted by the Common
Council, which at once passed an ordinance calling for an elec-
tion to vote upon the issuance of city bonds to cover the proposed
expenditure.

Spokane, Wash. — The Consumers' Light and Power Com-
pany having been awarded a franchise bv the Council over the
Mayor's veto, has ordered the entire plant for its new electric
light and power system, which will cost about $100,000. Contract-
ors are at work blasting out for the foundation of the new power
house, which will be situated at the west end on the north side of
the island to which the flume under the Washington street bridge
will be extended. The monocyclic system is to be used, and it is
expected that service will be given before the close of the year.

TRANSPORTATION.

Auburn, Cal. — Messrs. Hartley and Reynolds have secured
the franchise previously described for an electric road.

Modesto, Cal. — The Herald calls attention to the advisabil-
ity of building an electric railway from this city to Couiterville.
Santa Barbara, Cal. — The Santa Barbara Street Railway
Company is rebuilding its Garden-street horse-car track for an
electric line.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The Kuhrts street line of the Consoli-
dated Company was opened on August 21 for traffic and the
running of cars.

Alameda, Cal. — The Alameda Electric Railway Company is
having constructed a 2800 gallon sprinkling car, for which salt
water will be used.

Portland. Or. — C. E. Smith, Graham Class and others have
secured a franchise for an electric road on First street over the
present horse-car line.

Sacramento, Cal. — An application has been filed for a fran-
chise to carry " fruit, vegetables and other freight'' over the
electric line on V street.

Oroville, Cal. — The project of building an electric road
between Oroville and Butte City to Palermo and Biggs is being
revived by Messrs. Hatch, Rock and Treat.

Phoenix, Ariz.- — Surveying, grading and cross sectioning is
being done on the new electric line that will run from First and
Washington street to Dennis and Brill's Additions.

Oroville, Cal. — Newspapers are advocating the building of
an electric road to run from Oroville to Palermo, thence across
the river, passing through the large orchard tracts to Biggs, and
then Gridley.

San Bernardino, Cal. — The Pacific Improvement Company
(Southern Pacific Company) has bought the Southern California
Motor Road, running hence to Riverside. The purchase price
was $107,100.

Alameda, Cal. — In order to equalize the wear on car wheels
from curves, the Alameda Electric Railroad sends each car on the
main loop one way around the circle one day and the reverse
during the next day.

Chelan, Wash. — It is stated that J. F. Baker, of the First
Chelan Bank intends to build an electric railway between the
foot of Lake Chelan and the Columbia river. The dynamos will
be driven by water power.

Castle Rock, Wash. — The Mount St. Helens Railway Com-
pany has been incorporated to build an electric railway from
here to the mining region of Skamania county. Milton Santee,
B. A. Deetz and L. G. Biglow are the promoters.

Redlands, Cal — LSusiness men a,re agitating the question of
calling an election for voting bonds for the construction of an
electric road from Smiley Heights to the Lugonia School, with a
branch line up Citrus avenue for two miles.

Redlands, Cal. — A scheme is on foot to consolidate the
street-car systems of San Bernardino with that of motor roads
leading to the principal resorts of the vailey, and convert the
whole into electric roads. Power can be cheaply obtained from
the Redlands Electric Company, and negotationsto that end are
now in progress, with strong probabilities of complete success.

Oakland, Cal. — E. P. Vandercook has secured a franchise for
an electric road from East Oakland to the county line beyond
Livermore, via Haywards and Dublin, and with a spur to Pleas-
anton. The line will be thirty-three miles in length, w'hich is
twelve miles shorter than the present steam route to Livermore,
and the maximum grade will be 5 per cent. It is stated that
construction will be begun within sixty days.

Oakland, Cal.— Engineers are surveying the route of the
proposed Vandercook electric line from Oakland to Livermore,
and it is stated that graders and tracklayers will be at work by
October 1st. Practically, all rights of way have been secured and
the maximum grade will not exceed (i per cent.

San Diego, Cal.— Geo. B. Kerper, purchaser of the cable
road and who proposes to convert it into an electric system, ex-
pects to erect various places of amusement at the Pavilion on'
University Heights. Power will probably be purchased from the
San Diego Gas and Electric Light Company.

Concord, Cal. — The construction of aii electric railway over
the Piedmont hills to Walnut Valley, and thence along the loop
connecting with the California and Nevada Railroad, is promised
by Gen. J. A. Williamson, of Washington, D. C., who with his
associates owns 14,000 acres of land in the Moraga tract, which
the proposed road will open up

San Francisco.— J. B. Stetson, Lovell White and others
interested in the North Pacific Coast Railway have had surveys
and estimates made for the construction of a railroad, to extend
from Mill Valley station in Marin County to the summit of Mount
Tamalpais, a distance of about four miles. The road will pro-
bably circle the mountain.

Los Angeles, Cal. — D. M. McGarry has applied for a fran-
chise for a new street railway to be known as the Los Angeles
Belt Railway, which will start at Seventh and Broadway and
going east to San Pedro, south to Ninth street, east across the
river to Boyle avenue, North to Chicago, north to Brooklyn, west
to Bridge, west to Aliso, west to Los Angeles, south to First and.
San Pedro and west to the starting point.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The Los Angeles Traction Company
commenced operations on September 1st by opening its electric
road running from the Santa Fe Depot at La Grange Station up
Third street to Hill, to Eighth street, to Pearl, to Eleventh, to
Georgia Bell, to Sixteenth, to Bush and to the city limits at
Hoover street, making a distance of about four and a half miles.
Los Angeles, Cal. — The Board of Directors of the Pasadena
and Los Angeles Electric Railway has accepted the property from
Contractor Clark, and has paid him lor the same an amount in
the neighborhood of $400,000, in stocks and bonds of the Com-
pany. When its extensions are completed the road and its con-
nections will* extend from a junction with the Mt. Lowe road
to Santa Monica.

Santa Barbara, Cal.— An eighteen months' franchise has
been granted to the Santa Barbara Consolidated Electric Rail-
way Company, and N. F. Ashton states that work will be begun
at once on the new electric road. It is stated that as the manage-
ment was obliged to .wait until the preliminaries required by
law were complied with under the fifty years' franchise, con-
struction could not be begun for some time 10 come ; hence to
hasten the beginning of operations the short-term franchise was
granted by the Common Council.

Portland, Or.-S. Z. Mitchell, W. T. Nelson and Fred V.
Holman have incorporated the Portland Western Railway Com-
pany, to acquire and operate railway lines as follows: the railway
formerly owned by the Barnes' Heights & Connell Mountain
Railway Company; a railway having its termini at Portland and
Hillsboro; a railway beginning at Mount Cavalry cemetery, near
Portland, and terminating at Hillsboro; to build railways in any
town or city of Oregon ; to acquire and operate telegraph and
telephone lines and power houses.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The Los Angeles Consolidated Electric
Railroad was sold on August 19th to Captain A. M. Payson, man-
ager of the Pacific Rolling Mills, as representative of the holders
ol $1,500,000 of bonds, or" one-half of the face value of the issue.
There were two bids. General Manager Fred. W. Wood states
that the new owners will spend between $250,000 and $500,000 in
improving the system. The entire plant will be operated from
one station, which will necessitate the placing of additional boil-
ers, engines and 1000 horse-power direct connected generators.
The capacity of the plant will be from 2500 to 3000 horse-power.
None of the existing lines will be abandoned, but all cable lines
and the Ninth street horse-car lines will be equipped with elec-
tric traction, which will doaway with the three cable power-houses
nowr operated. The reconstruction of the system has been be-
gun, and will be prosecuted diligently.

San Francisco, Cal. — In changing the Union street cable
system, the tracks on Jackson and Washington streets are to be
used jointly by the Market street Railway and the Presidio and
Ferries Railway (Union street cable line), and the cost of recon-
struction will be divided between the two corporations. The
Market Street Railway Company, after having equipped the Post
street cable line and the Montgomery street horse-car line with
the trolley, will operate these lines as a continuous line, reaching
the ferry over the Washington and Jackson street roadbed. The
Union street cars will take power from the Market street sys-
tem. The Jackson and Washington street branch will be the
first portion of the Union street line to be equipped with electri-
city, after which will follow the main cable line on Union street
to the Presidio, and then to- the Harbor View extension, which is
at present operated as a steam road.

82

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 3.

TRANSMISSION.

Redlands, Cal. — The use of electric motors for operating
well pumps is becoming very general in this vicinity.

Riverside, Cal, — Dr. Lyman Gregory has made a verbal offer
to furnish water power from the San Jacinto Mountains to oper-
ate the proposed municipal electric lighting plant.

San Bernardino, Cal. — Rev. Boren, Jr., and H.T.Shirley
have tiled an appropriation of 7000 inches of water from the Santa
Ana River for the purpose of developing power for an electric
power house.

Butte, Mont. — An English syndicate has purchased the Clip-
per group of mines and will put in an electric power plant at
Pony and transmit the power to the mine, where a 200 or 250-
stamp mill will be erected.

Fresno, Cal — The San Joaquin Electric Power Company has
secured a franchise for its pole lines in this city in consideration
of supplying to the city, free of charge forten years, two 2000 can-
dle-power arc lamps.

Mesa, Ariz. — A.J. Chandler, of the Consolidated Canal Com-
pany, will have GOO horse- power in electric power ready for deliv-
ery in Mesa, shortly. The water power will be obtained from a
bluff one and one-half miles from here.

Redding, Cal. — Geo. P. Himes, acting for Wm. M.Fitzhugh,

of San Francisco, has located two 'water rights at the junction of
the Pitt and McC'loud Rivers, and states that it is proposed to
erect thereat a plant for electrical transmission of power.

Nogales, Ariz. — The Boleo Company, operating extensive
copper mines at Santa Rosalia, Lower California, is installing
an extensive General Electric plant for lighting its works, and
running all its machinery. The plant is being forwarded via
Guaymas.

Phescott, Ariz. — Articles of incorporation have been tiled by
the Arizona Water Storage Company, formed for the purpose of
developing water to be used for irrigation, mining, power, etc.
Capital stock, $5,000,000. Incorporators, B. Burr, L. Marchant,
Wm. E. Hazeltine.

Los Angeles, Cal. — Chas, Storey, Engineer of the City Hall,
has rendered a report to the Board of Public Works concerning
an electric lighting plant for the City Hall. The building should
be re-wired, and a 500-light dynamo with additional steam equip-
ment will be necessary.

Salt Lake City, Utah.-— The copper wire for the Big Cotton-
wood transmission of seventeen miles to this city, and consisting
of 214 miles of wire in three sizes, has been made by the John A.
Roebling's Sons' works in Trenton. The total weight of this
shipment is 218,000 pounds.

Visalia, Cal.- -The surveyors of the Kaweah Electric Power
Company have finished the location and cross section of the ditch
from the Kaweah River to the site of the proposed plant, but
some time will be required to make the necessary maps, diagrams
and calculations before ground is broken.

Petrepoi.is, Brazil. — The local electric lighting company has
increased its plant by the addition of a 120-kilowatt General Elec-
tric alternator and Pelton water wheel. The present plant con-
sists of three 120-kilowatt direct connected equipments, hence the
total capacity when the new machine has been placed will be 420
kilowatts.

Santa Ana, Cal. — The action of the Board of Trustees, in
calling a special election to vote on a proposition to incur a bond-
ed indebtedness in the sum of $18,000 for the erection of a muni-
cipal electric lighting plant, has brought out a proposition from
C. M. Holmes offering to sell the entire electric light plant of the
Santa Ana Gas and Electric Company for $6,000.

Park City, Utah.— The drainage water from the Ontario
Mine, which has for years been a great burden, has been utilized
for an electric lighting plant, and now drives a 3-phase 65-kilo-
watt generator by means of a Pelton water wheel. The current
is conveyed to this city, a distance of three miles, and is used
for lighting the company's mills and mine works.

Salt Lake City, Utah.— The Salt Lake & Ogden Gas and
Electric Light Co. proposes to furnish arc lamps for street light-
ing at the following rates : Fifty to seventy arc lights for two
years contract, $11 per light per month; three years, $10.50; for
100 arc lights two years, $10.50 ; three vears, $10 ; five vears, $9 50 ;
for 150 arc lights, two years, $10; three years, " $9.50; five
years, $9.

Santa Rosa, Cal. — Local capitalists are considering a trans-
mission project by which electric power will be delivered here
from a canyon forty feet higher than the Russian River, and
which is situated near Healdsburg. The plant, it is estimated,
will generate from 2000 to 5000 horsepower, and it is expected

that with additional turbines and canals running out of the initial
dam at least 8000 horse-power can be derived.

Fresno, Cal. — Between 150 and 200 men are at work for the
San Joaquin Electric Company on the North Fork. The Canal
will lie completed by October 1st, and the flumes are about
finished. The reservoir will probably be finished by October
15th, and work on the pole line will be begun as soon as the poles
arrive from Mendocino County. J. S. Eastwood, chief engineer
of the company, states that the plant will ba in operation earlier
than February.

Santa Cruz, Cal — It is announced that Fred. W. Swanton,
manager of the Santa Cruz Electric Light and Power Company,
has made terms with Henry Cowell for the purchase of his water
rights on the San Lorenzo River, and that an electric power trans-
mission will be placed, if sufficient co-operation from the citizens
can be secured. Measurements taken show that 400 horse-power
is available during August, and for six months in the year the
water-power of the river is equal to 1000 horse-power. The length
of transmission is three and one-half miles.

Nevada City, Cal. — One hundred men are at work on the
flume of the, Nevada County Electric Power Company, and are
placing therein from 25,000 to 20,000 feet of lumber per day. All
polesand cross arms are on the ground, and, with the line, will
be erected at once The generator lias been shipped from Pitts-
field, Mass., by the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company,'
and, without doubt, the plant will be finished as previously an-
nounced. The pole line will run from the power house to Sargent's
ranch, thence to W. G. Richards' ranch, and from there to the
Deer Creek mines, thence to >own Talk and on to Grass Valley.
A branch will be run up Deer Creek to supply other mines in that
locality.

Fresno, Cal. — The reservoir for the San Joaquin Electric
Power Company will consist of a natural basin covering eight
acres, so conditioned as to necessitate the building of a dam on one
side only, which can easily be done by throwing up an embank-
ment twenty-three feet high and ninety feet wide at the base, and
twelve feet in width at the top. ' The reservoir thus formed will
contain 28,000,000 gallons, and will be at an elevation of 1410 feet
above the powerhouse. Three General Electric three-phase gen-
erators of 340 kilowatts each, and each being direct connected to
a Pelton water wheel, will be used, and on each shaft is to be
placed a 6000-pound fly wheel to act as an auxiliary for the gov-
ernor, which is to be of the Pelton differential type. The dyna-
mos will deliver current at 700 volts, which will" be transformed
up to 11,000 volts, and transmitted to Fresno, thirty-four miles
distant, with a loss of ten per cent. Six No. 3 B. & S. bare copper
wires will be used, supported by forty-foot redwood poles, 12x12
at the base, and 0x6 at the top, standard double petticoat porce-
lain insulators being used. The sub-station will be located ad-
joining the Sperry Flouring Mills in Fresno. The entire plant,
which includes seven miles of ditching and considerable flume
work, will cost not to exceed $200,000, and it is claimed will be in
operation by February 1st, 1896.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Los Angeles, Cal.— The new City Jail, soon to be erected,
will contain quarters to be used as the operating room for the
Police Patrol system.

Mare Island, Cal. — The Boudreaux dynamo brush, or its
equivalent, is considered as the standard in specifications for sup-
plies issued by the Navy Department at this place.

San Jose, Cal. — Bids for an electric elevator proposed to be
placed in the City Hall were received from the Crane Elevator
Company of Chicago, and the Cahill & Hall Elevator Company
of San Francisco, the figures being $27,000 and $29,090, respec-
tively.

Oakland, Cal. — Charles F. McDermott, residing at Phghth
and Center streets, is perfecting an electric submarine torpedo,
the invention of Dr. Gross of Chicago, and which is claimed to be
actuated and exploded by electrical means. A public exhibition
is promised soon.

Pasadena, Cal. — Articles of incorporation of the California
Light and Fuel Company have been filed. Its object is to acquire,
construct, operate, sell and otherwise dispose of gas works, gas,
electric lights, fuel and power works, etc., and to acquire and dis-
pose of water . Principal place of business, Los Angeles . Directors :
T. S. C. Lowe, J. M. 0. Marble, L. P. Lowe, W. G. Cochran and
H. C. Brown. Capital stock, $300,000.

Seattle, Wash. — Arrangements have been entered into be-
tween the various electric companies whereby three-fifths of the
poles on the principal streets will be taken down and removed,
and only the 60-foot poles of the Union Illuminating Company
and the 80-foot poles of the Sunset Telephone and Telegraph
Company will be allowed to remain.

R. M. WOOD CO. PRINT. 314-316 BATTERY CT ,

THE JOOfylfllt OF EliEGTRlCITY.

Vol. I.

OCTOBER, 1895.

No. 4.

F. Mullander and Sidney Sprout.

N" EDITORIAL which appeared

in a recent number of the

Journal of Electricity com-

' J * plained that without doubt

**f ' the thousands of spectators

^r WT^ wno iount^ much to admire in

the elaborate display of light-
ing effects witnessed during the Electrical Carnival
Night pageant at Sacramento, would regret to learn that
" despite the efforts of several local photographers, there
is not to be obtained a single illustration of even a single
float that would make a creditable appearance, or that
is worthy of reproduction."

This is a situation that excites but little surprise
in view of the paucity of information concerning the
taking of night photographs by aid of the electric light,
and it does not follow that the inability of a photogra-
pher to picture night effects is a reflection against his
professional ability for many reasons, foremost among

Copyrighted 1895, by Geo. P. Low

which is, of course, the
necessity for experience in
this work, and, above all,
a perfect co-operation of
effort between the photog-
rapher and the electrician.
It is the purpose of this
article to give, as far as is
possible, such details of
practical experience as will enable work of the char-
acter defined to be undertaken intelligently by any
pains-taking photographer ; but success cannot be at-
tained, nor can the results herein portrayed be accom-
plished, without perfect unanimity and accord of action
on the part of both the photographic and electrical
interests.

It is a matter well known in photographic circles that
night photography did not become an established art, so
far as the perfect delineation of high lights and obscure
details are concerned, until the spring of 1894, when the
night photographs of scenes of the California Midwinter
International Exposition were taken by I. W. Taber, the
San Francisco photographer, and it was at the hands of
the writers of this article — one of whom is the chief
view artist of the photographer named, the other being
the Assistant Electrical Engineer of the Midwinter Ex-
position, that the results herein given were accomplished.
The idea of making exhaustive researches in the

All Rights Reserved.

84

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

sphere of night photography by electric light was due to
the desire of the Manager of the San Francisco Examiner
to develop a new and striking feature in the way of
illustrating the portfolio of views of the Midwinter Fair
that was then under preparation by that paper. The
first efforts made in the way of night photography were
far from satisfactory, as has been the experience of every
photographer that has ever attempted work of this
nature, and the discouraging results may be summed up
in the statement that the high lights caused halation of
the plate to such an extent that all detail was lost.
Composite photographs taken instantaneously by day-
light, but with under exposure, and then exposed again
by night from the same sitting, were then experimented

from this plate were not genuine, and the firm determin-
ation to secure bona fide- photographs that would be ab-
solutely free from fraud of any kind, led to the suppress-
ion of the prints, and none were ever distributed.

It soon became evident that original research alone
could solve the problem, and an analysis of the situation
led to the conclusion that it would be necessary to so time
the various features of the subject that all details would
be given equal exposures, or, in other words, that the
features of the subject should be graduated into lights
and shades, varying from high lights to obscure details,
and that different periods of exposure should be made
for each such feature, so that the effect on the plate
would be the same as though all features were lighted in

Figure 1 — A View of the Tower prom the Main Arch of the Agricultural Building, Mid-
winter Fair, Illustrating the Impracticability of Photographing a Beam of Light with
a Wide Angle Lens. (Copyright 1894, by I. W. Taber.)

on with no better success, and the photographs thus de-
rived, one of which is shown in Figure 4, bore the unmis-
takable marks of " faking." In this photograph an
instantaneous exposure was made about 5 o'clock in the
afternoon, when the camera was left standing until 9
o'clock p. m., and then exposed for the illuminated effects
for 15 minutes. No assistance was rendered in the elec-
trical department in the way of turning off lamps or
regulating the direction of the search light, but as the
latter would form an indispensable feature in any night
photograph of the Court of Honor, the beam of the
search light was " faked " on to the negative by means
familiar to every photographer. The general aspect of
the photograph is one of twilight, just after the starting
up of the lighting circuit, but the knowledge that prints

perfect equality. It was at this point that the services
of the Electrical Engineering Department were brought
into demand, and work was commenced on a basis that
is believed to have been new and entirely original. All
photographs of the Midwinter Fair were taken on Seed
plates No. 26, that varied in size from 8 x 10 inches to
18 x 22 inches. No non-halation plates were used, ex-
cept experimentally, as it was found that ordinary single
coated plates are far superior to the non-halation plates,
for the reason that the latter will not bring out details to
a satisfactory degree. Both wide angle and rectilinear
lenses, as will appear, were used, and throughout all the
work, almost without exception, the camera was operated
with an F16 stop.
The successful development of plates of night photo-

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

85

graphs can only be accomplished through the careful
use of a solution of red prussiate of potash to reduce
the halation wherever necessary. This solution consists
of the following ingredients : Red prussiate of potash,
I ounce; hypo, 2 ounces; water, 16 ounces. The action
of this solution is analogous to that of planing a board,
and if it is flooded over an entire plate it will reduce
the film proportionately. To check halation it is ap-
plied to the parts affected with a bit of cotton, which
outs away the high lights of the film, and when these
high lights have been reduced sufficiently, further reduc-
tion must be checked by putting the plate to wash in
water. Halation may often be checked if not pre-
vented while developing the plate by application of a so-
lution of bromide of potassium, consisting of one part of
bromide to 10 parts of water. When it is noticed that

posure the high lights spread, increasing in size with the
increased length of exposure, forming halation that be-
comes impossible to reduce. With arc lamps the rays
are sometimes so intense as to actually burn holes
through the films, possibly owing to the focusing of its
heat-rays, as in a sun-glass, and to treat such troubles is
manifestly impossible, as there is no film to be affected.
An occurrence of this nature is shown very prettily
in the view of the State Capitol Building, as illumi-
nated on the 9th of September last, which is repro-
duced in Figs. 6 and 7, from a photograph taken by Mr.
A. Peterson. In this a Seed 27 plate was used, and
the first illustration shown was printed from the plate
as it appeared after ordinary developing, and the
second illustration is from the same plate, after hav-
ing been treated with red prussiate of potash for the

Figure 2— The Liberal Arts Building, Electric Fountain and Dome op the Agricultural
Building, Midwinter Fair. (Copyright 1894, by I. W. Taber.)

certain lights are coming up too sharply on the plate,
the touching of these parts by a bit of cotton wet with
the bromide solution will check the development. An
illustration of the effectiveness of this may be seen in
the photograph from which the illuminated caption at
the head of this article was taken, in which the lights
from the interior of the Vienna Prater were coming up
so strongly as to lose all details of the building, but
through the prompt use of the bromide solution the de-
velopment of the high lights was checked with the satis-
factory results shown.

In photographing high lights the tendency is to turn
the film into a perfectly hard, black substance, from the
excess of light, just as nitrate of silver, when exposed
to the sun, will turn black. Under proper exposure the
film should turn only to a gray color, but with over-ex-

purpose of cutting down the high lights. The exposure
was of 1\ minutes' duration, which resulted in a severe
burning of the plate about the arc lights in the dome,
but it is evident that this has been very successfully re-
duced, except at the point of focus of the heat-rays of
the arc-lamps, which, as stated, have burned holes
through the films. It would be difficult to obtain a more
satisfactory photograph without the assistance of the
electrician controlling the lights.

An illustration showing forcibly the futility of endeav-
oring to accomplish night photography without the
assistance of the proper parties controlling the lighting
effects is given in Figure 12, which is a reproduction
from a photograph taken of an illuminated arch thrown
across Market street, San Francisco, last Fourth of July.
In this instance an exposure of 20 minutes was made

86

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

with the stop wide open, and the plate was not treated
in any way. The lamps upon the arch were of different
colors, which explains the varying degree of brightness.
The street traffic was perhaps larger than is usual on
evenings, but of course does not appear distinctly on the
photograph, even though a 26 plate was used. The
streaks running along in the center of the street are from
the signal lights of the passing cars, while the bright,
continuous streaks are from the headlights of passing
cars. These, of course, could have been prevented by
capping the camera during the passing of each car, but
it was deemed advisable, for the sake of illustration, not
to interfere with the continuous exposure.

A similar experiment in night photography is given in
Figure 11, showing a canopy of incandescent light oper-

services of the electrical department thus became indis-
pensable, and the first view taken after these were se-
cured is reproduced in Figure 3, showing the Adminis-
tration and Agricultural Buildings, and with the search
light on the Observatory on Strawberry Hill. In addition
to the usual lights, the buildings and the tower were
illuminated for five minutes each by the small search
light placed in the turret of the Mechanical Arts Build-
ing. The time of exposure was as follows : 9 p. m., ex-
posure began ; 9:01 p. m., arc lamps shut off; 9:15 p.m.,
tower lights shut off; 9:30 p. m., camera capped —giving
a full exposure of 30 minutes for the buildings, incandes-
cent and search lights.

The night view of the Liberal Arts Building, shown
in Figure 2, was taken with the following exposures :

Figure 3— The Court of Honor andSthe Administration and Agricultural Buildings of the
■ Midwinter- Fair, with- Seargh Light Thrown Upon the Observatory on Strawberry
Hill. (Copyright 1894, by I. W. Taber.)

ated during the recent water carnival at Santa Cruz, Cal.,
together with fire works. This exposure was started at
9:30 p. m. and stopped at 9:50 o'clock, when all incandes-
cent lamps were turned off, but later in the evening the
camera was uncapped and exposed for 30 minutes during
a display of fire works. The halation appearing was
caused by the calcium lights being turned directly upon
the camera, and no efforts were made to remove the
rings thus formed.

Reverting to the Midwinter Fair, in order that the
proper exposure may be given to bring out each feature
of every subject, regardless of whether such feature con-
sisted of high or low lights, the plan was"adopted of
issuing orders to the dynamo room to start up or shut
down specified exterior lighting circuits at such times
during the evening as had been predetermined. The

The building and decorative incandescent lamps, one
hour; search light on the building, fifteen minutes; elec-
tric fountain, five minutes; arc lamps, one minute.

In rather painful contrast to this illustration is that
presented in Figure 5, which is a reproduction from an
amateur effort of night photography with the same sub-
ject. This merits criticism from many points, but clearly
all detail was under exposed, while the high lights were
over exposed. Again, it is evident from examination of
the lower right hand corner of the photograph that the
developer was not flowed evenly over the plate, aud that
the portion of the plate which evidently was omitted
from the initial flow shows better detail than the main
portion of the plate. This, in turn, indicates over-de-
velopment — as over-development always brings out ha-
lation it makes the hard lights harder. The severe

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

87

burning given the plates by the arc lamps has caused
such halation that no reduction could have saved them.
Here may be mentioned the fact that a peculiarity of
negatives produced iu photographing arc lamps are the
bright rays or streaks of light emanating therefrom, and

Figure 4 — A Composite Day and Night Photogsaph op the Sub-
ject Presemtbd in Figure 3. — A suppressed "fake .1" photo-
graph. (Copyright 1894, by I. W. Taber.)

which are always of the same inclination. No satis-
factory explanation of these rays has been advanced,
but the writers believe that inasmuch as the camera will
reproduce details that the eye canuot detect, these rays
have an actual existence but are not sensible to the hu-
man eye. By treatment of the plate they may be consid-
erably reduced, but not eliminated, provided the plate is
not too far over-exposed.

The first night photograph taken was that reproduced
in Figure 8, the subject being the Tower, the Court
and the Manufacturers' Buildings, which was given an
exposure of thirty minutes under ordinary conditions —
that is, with all lights, both arc and incandescent, oper-
ating as usual and the search light playing in all direc-
tions. In this connection it may be well to state that
the favorite subjects illuminated by the search light
were the simple cross on Lone Mountain, the Prayer-
book Cross, and the Observatory on the top of Straw-
berry Hill. In this instance, the Cross on Lone Mount-
ain formed the subject most appropriate to the photo-
graph, and fortunately it suited the humor of the man
controlling the search light to illuminate this cross more
than the other subjects. Upon developing the negative,
however, rays of light extended in all directions, but
these, with the exception of one ray in the direction of
Strawberry Hill, which the photograph shows faintly,
were cut down in the manner hereafter described.

It is clear from an analysis of the photograph, if not
of the illustration, that the high lights were so strong
that all of the fine detail of the buildings and grounds
were practically lost, as were also all of the geometrical
forms which were outlined in incandescent lamps on the
tower. To have made the exposure proper to avoid
halation would have been to lose all of the details about

the buildings, and conversely, iu order to bring out the
details in the buildings and grounds, halation resulted,
as is evident.

The beauty of the view presented in Figure 1, show-
ing the tower from within the main arch of the Agricul-
tural Building, was noted towards the close of the Fair,
and several attempts were made to photograph it, but
none of which, even the one here reproduced, was per-
fectly satisfactory. The conditions presented were try-
ing in that the subject contained objects both near and
distant, which afforded considerable difficulty in focus-
ing, and necessitated the use of a wide angle lens. This
alone would not have been a material difficulty were it
not for the fact that we have thus far found it impossible
to photograph the beam of a search light when using a
wide angle lens, the reason probably being that the rays
are so diffused as to dissipate their actinic effects. The
night on which this photograph was taken was excep-
tionally favorable iu that the atmosphere was sufficiently
hazy to bring out the beam of the search light very
strongly, but despite this it was but faintly brought out
in the photograph. The interior of the arch was illum-
inated by two arc lamps, and the times of exposure are
as follows : 9 p. m., camera uncapped ; 9:10 p. m., arc
lamps extinguished ; 9:15 p. m., the arch arc lamps ex-
tinguished ; 9:30 p. m., tower " blinkers " extinguished ;
10 p. m., tower incandescents extinguished ; 10:30 p. m.,
camera capped, after giving the beam of the search light
an exposure of one and a half hours. No more striking
example of the inability of a wide angle lens to photo-
graph a beam of light can be given than that shown by
comparison of Figures 1 and 3. The photograph from
which Figure 3 is reproduced, and which was taken
with a rectilinear lens, was exposed thirty minutes, while

Figure 5— The Liberal Arts Building and^Electric Fountain
Under Ordinary Exposure, Illustrating the Bearing of
Over-Development Upon Halation. (Copyright 1S94, by J.
N. and D. Creighton.)

the photograph shown in Figure 1, taken with a wide
angle lens with a superior beam of light, was exposed for
one and a half hours.

The superb photograph from which the caption of this
article was made, and which shows a general night view

88

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

of the Midwinter Fair grounds, was taken from Straw-
berry Hill, the exposure being started at 9 p. m. From
previous observations it has been found that a consider-
able portion of the Fair grounds, particularly that of the
Midway nearest Strawberry Hill, would appear as ex-
cessively lighted or not lighted at all, according to
whether the lights therein were turned on or off. In
the former instance halation would hot only destroy all
detail, but would ruin the photograph, and as the bring-
ing out of this portion of the Fair grounds was desirable,

Figure 6 — The Illumination op the State Capitol Building
at Sacramento, Reproducing a Print made prom a Plate
Before the Reduction op High Lights and Halation.

the arc lamps lighting it were shaded from the camera
by means of pieces of card board attached to the lamps
on the sides nearest the camera so as to obscure all the
direct rays of light. These lamps were left burning
throughout the entire exposure with the result that the
thoroughfares and buildings, being well illuminated, are
excellently reproduced. As stated, the exposure started
at 9 p. m., and at 9:05 all arc lamps around the Court were
turned off. The " blinkers," as the changeable lights in
the tower were termed, were run until 9:30, but the
buildings and incandescents, together with the search
light and Firth wheel, which were kept stationary, were
allowed to run until 10 o'clock, when the camera was
capped. The electric fountain was played nightly for
twenty minutes from 10 o'clock, and on this particular
evening it had been arranged that at the close of its play
all jets of the fountain would be operated under white
light for five minutes additional, during which the
camera was uncapped. It may be noted that the plate
from which this photograph was taken was not treated
in any way except by the application of red prussiate of
potash, and that the night was windy and generally dis-
agreeable.

An excellent specimen of night photography was se-
cured recently at Glen Una, the home and prune ranch
of Mr. Frank Hume near Los Gatos, Cal., and which is
shown in Figure 9. The subject is situated in the
midst of a grove of scrub oaks, which being very thick,
and it being 10 o'clock at night, rendered the subject
very dark. The exposure was commenced at 10 p. m.,
and stopped at 10:30, the only light being that of a single

2000 candle power arc lamp, and that of incandescent
lamps concealed in the Japanese lanterns shown. No
people appeared during this exposure, but instead, at its
conclusion the people were grouped as shown, and an
additional exposure of five minutes was made.

The photograph reproduced in Figure 10 shows the
interior of the electric fountain, the striking feature of
which is the manner in which the rays of light from the
horizontal reflectors were brought out. This was the
result of an accident. Several unsuccessful attempts
had been made upon this subject, and it was finally con-
cluded to make a time exposure of five minutes, upon
the expiration of which time a flash light would be used,
but when the cap was removed the flash light was acci-
dently set off, filling the room with smoke which brought
out the rays so much stronger that the exposure was
continued ten minutes longer in order that the full effect
might be secured. The plate was not treated in any
way, and the lesson thus learned has since been of ser-
vice many times in bringing ont lighting effects that
would otherwise have been impossible.

Considering the remarkable results that were attained
in the way of night photography at the Midwinter Fair,
regret will always be felt, perhaps by millions, that simi-
lar efforts were not undertaken during the late World's
Fair at Chicago, and it is to be hoped that the officials
of the Atlanta Exposition now in progress will embrace

Figure 7 — The Illumination of the State Capitol Building
at Sacramento, Reproducing a Print made from a Plate
After the Reduction of High Lights and Halation.

the opportunity presented for further research in the
realms of night photography.

"AS OTHERS SEE US."

The Electrical Journal changes its name with the Sep-
tember number, the third issue, to The Journal of Elec-
tricity. It is one of the best technical papers coming to
the reviewer's table, and contains much valuable knowl-
edge for the student as well as the practical electrician.
The different departments are well edited, and The Jour-
nal under the taanagemeut of Mr. George P. Low has
from the start secured an enviable advertising patron-
age. The Overland Monthly, San Francisco.

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

89

THE MAGNETIC SEPARATION OF FREE GOLD.
A SUGGESTION.

By Lieut. W. Stuart-Smith, U. S. N.

The writer was recently consulted regarding the pos-
sibility of utilizing electricity for the separation of the
free gold from black sand, and, after some thought, con-

tude, and the reaction between these and the magnetic
field will cause the gold to be separated from the sand.

A small generator only would be required, and if only
the larger and heavier particles of gold could be separ-
ated, it would seem that the sand could be worked at con-
siderable profit, as the labor expended on the sand itself
would be simply that required to shovel it into a hopper.

Figure 8 — Night Photography. The Tower, Court and Liberal Arts Building of the
Midwinter Fair. (Copyright 1894, by I. W. Taber.)

ceived the idea of a magnetic separator, similar in prin-
ciple to those in use for concentrating iron ores.
Evidently a direct current cannot be used, since the
metal to be separated is not capable of being influenced
by constant magnetism.

The gold exists in a free state, consisting of very thin
flakes, each of which may be considered as constituting

AS OTHERS SEE US.
The Journal of Electricity (September) — The right
to priority of claim to the title of The Electrical Journal
which was raised by the papers of that name published
respectively here and iu Chicago, has been settled. Both
papers came out at the same time and each claimed the
name. The Journal here has at last decided to stop the

Figure 9 — Night Photography. In the Grove at Glen Una,
Time, 10 p. m.

a closed circuit. If, then, the magnets be energized by
an alternating current of high frequency, and the sand
containing the gold be passed in front of the poles in a
thin stream, or be blown against the poles by a gentle
air blast, the rapidly changing magnetism will generate
in the contained metal currents of considerable magni-

Figure 10 — Night Photography'. Under the Electric Fountain
at the Midwinter Fair. — A suggestion for bringing out light
rays. (Copyright 1894, by I. W. Taber.)

controversy, and appears under the name of The Jour-
nal of Electricity, a name as fitting and in keeping,
moreover, with its purposes. It is edited by George P.
Low and F. A. C. Perrine, two well-known men in elec-
trical circles. The September number has a prosperous
appearance. — Engineer and Contractor, San Francisco.

90

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

DISPENSING WITH MAGNETOS IN TELEPHONE
EXCHANGES.

While marvelous advances have been made in develop-
ing telephone exchanges to a high standard of excellence,
there yet remains details which, though forming indis-
pensable adjuncts, have received but little if any atten-

Figure 11 — Night Photography. The Santa Cruz Water
Carnival, Showing Halation Circles and Film Burn-
ings. (Copyright 1894, by I. W. Taber.)

tion, and which stand to-day where they were a decade
since. Prominent among these details is the magneto,
whieh, except in the invention of improved features such
as gearing so arranged as to automatically cut the mag-
neto circuit in or out, as the case may be upon turning
the crank handle, is to all intents the same device as was
in use long before the invention of the telephone. It is
universally conceded that the magneto itself is not a
satisfactory appliance in telephone exchanges, particu-
larly those of large proportions, yet despite this it is
used almost exclusively, the only improvement applied
being that it is driven by some motive power such as an
electric motor. Some exchanges in the large cities are
to-day operating dozens of small telephone magnetos
which are driven by counter shafting and belting and re-
quire much attention.

For several years the local telephone system connect-
ing various departments of the Edison Light and Power
Company of San Francisco, which is operated through a
local exchange in the office of the company, was
equipped with a single ordinary magneto driven by an
electric motor, the latter in turn being operated from the
Edison underground circuit. Except for the noise and
requiring occasional attention, the service was withal
satisfactory, but nevertheless it is believed that it could
be improved upon, and accordingly the apparatus shown
in the accompanying illustration was installed.

As is evident from the cut, an Edison slow-speed fan
motor having a rated capacity of one-twelfth of a horse-
power is used, and by placing two collector rings on the
other end of the armature shaft from that on which the
commutator is located, and by connecting each ring re-
spectively to diametrical points of the armature wind-
ing, the motor becomes a motor-generator, transforming
the direct current it receives into an alternating current
available at the collector rings and of a rate of alterna-
tion depending upon the speed of the armature. The
electro-motive force of the alternating current is at all

times equal to the electro-motive force of the direct cur-
rent applied to the motor and the rate of alternation is,
of course, twice the speed of the armature.

In the present instance, there being no 110-volt motor
available, a 25-volt motor was used, and the voltage of
the regular incandescent service is cut down to 25 volts
by the interposition of incandescent lamps in series with
the motor. From the brushes bearing upon the collector
rings, leads are taken through a small double pole jaw
switch to the primary of the small transformer, clearly
shown in the illustration. This primary consists of No.

24 cotton-covered magnet wire, and the secondary wind-
ing has three times the length of the same size of wire.
The transformer, therefore, builds up the potential from

25 volts to 75 volts, and as the speed of the motor is
1550 revolutions per minute, the rate of alternation is
3100 per minute.

It is found in practice that the ringing of a single 500-
ohm bell checks the speed of the motor by about 150
revolutions per minute, while the speed of the motor is
checked by about 500 revolutions per minute by throw-
ing a dead short circuit upon the secondary of the trans-
former. Iu no other way than by checking the speed of
the armature is a load manifested, and obviously under
most adverse conditions, i. e., a short circuit, can the
conditions imposed be sufficiently severe to cause burn-
ing out or other injury. The bells rung from this de-
vice are vibrated more strongly than from a magneto.

Under usual conditions a 110-volt motor of the form
described or otherwise, as may be desirable, would be
used, in which event the transformer would be so wound
as to step down from 110 volts to approximately 75
volts, under which conditions the energy consumed run-
ning at no load, but exciting the transformer, would be
approximately 85 watts, while under full load the con-
sumption will be 150 watts.

Figure 12 — Night Photogpaphy. An Illuminated Arch
Under Normal Exposure and Ordinary Development.

The entire outfit complete may be erected at slight
cost, and will operate from ten to fifteen calls simultane-
ously with satisfaction. When equipped with self-oiling
bearings and with carbon brushes the apparatus runs
noiselessly and will not require attention oftener than
once a month, if then. The arrangement is due to Mr.
F. E. Smith, the chief electrician of the Edison Light
and Power Company of San Francisco.

AS OTHERS SEE US.
We have at last received a copy of the first issue of
our new contemporary, The Electrical Journal (San
Francisco). The venture has received no little attention
in the United States, and it is with interest that we turn
over its pages. The articles are good.— Electricity,
London.

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

9i

Qleotro 'Jnsuranoe.

THE INFLUENCE OF HEAT ON CARRYING
CAPACITY.

A fire recently occurred in one of San Francisco's new
office buildings, which, though quickly suppressed,
caused damage to the amount of about $1000. At first
sight it was said that the fire was caused by electric
light wires, but after making a thorough examination it
was reported that though the conduit tubing and wire
insulation was burned away, yet the fire was due to
causes other than the electric installation. Nevertheless,
the examination disclosed a peculiarly vicious state of
affairs in connection with the wiring, which it seems to
the writer worth while calling attention to.

The iron columns supporting the floors are cased with
closely-fitting tiling, considerable space being enclosed
which is valuable as channel ways for wires, pipes, etc.

not occur owing to the high temperature of the sur-
rounding space. With the reduced conductivity the
passage of the calculated safe current would cause a very
considerable increase of temperature, which in itself
would further lower the conductivity and cause a still
further rise of temperature.

It will be seen, therefore, that while a calculation
shows that the conductivity could not have been more
than 45% of that for which estimate was made, it was
in reality less than 45% by an amount that cannot even
be guessed at. While it is reported that the electric in-
stallation was not the cause of the fire, yet it is readily
conceivable that the wire might have been heated to
redness. This case shows how thoroughly thoughtless-
ness may undo intention.

TO REVISE INSURANCE RULES.

The annual meeting of the Electrical Committee of the
Underwriters' Electric Association is to be held in New
York City during the week beginning December 9th, in

Dispensing with Magnetos in Telephone Exchanges.

In one of these wires were placed, enclosed in plain in-
terior conduit tubing, and in the same space was placed
a steam pipe carrying steam of 100 pounds per gauge.
The space was closed, so as to be practically a dead air
space, and the temperature must have been closely ap-
proximating to that of the steam. Steam of 100 pounds
pressure has a temperature of 338° F., and therefore the
wires must have had approximately this temperature
when no current was passing.

Wires are figured for a safe carrying capacity at 75°
F., and for every degree above this the resistance in-
creases .21% of 1. In this case the difference was 263°,
or the total increase of resistance was 263 times .21% or
55%. It follows, therefore, that considering only the
temperature due to the steam, the carrying capacity was
reduced to 45% of the calculated amount, but this rep-
resents by no means the actual carrying capacity of the
wire. The rules for safe carrying capacity are based
upon the possibility of the heat generated being freely
radiated, and in this case it is evident that this could

view of which it has been deemed wise to adopt some
plan by which all interested in the subject of rules for
electric light and power wiring, whether members of this
Association or not, can have an opportunity to make
suggestions for the committee to consider.

It has seemed probable that some points, which might
with advantage have been discussed, were lost because
there were no written memoranda on the subject to
bring the matter to the attention of the committee, and,
as a result, forms have been printed for the use of those
interested on which may be designated any features of
the present requirements which may be deemed objection-
able, or which it is believed could be amended, or on
which suggestions regarding the formulation of new
rules to cover points not now touched upou. These
blanks may be obtained upon application to C. M. God-
dard, Secretary, 55 Kilby street, Boston, or Geo. P. Low,
member of the committee, 303 California street, San
Francisco, and must be filled out and mailed to Mr.
Goddard on or before December 1st.

92

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

1&f{* Journal of SEtettrititg*

An Illustrated Review of the Industrial Applications of Electricity, Gas and Power

EDITED BY

F. A. C. PERRINE, D. Sc, and -GEO. P. LOW.

Subscription Payable in Advance. Terms : — Domestic, One

Dollar per Year; Foreign, Two Dollars per Year.

The Rates for Advertising are Moderate.

PUBLISHED JVIOflTHLtY BY GEO. P. L«OW,
303 California Street San Francisco.

LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE. MAIN 5709.

[Entered as Second-Class Matter at the San Francisco Postoffice.]

VOLUME I.

OCTOBER, 1895.

NUMBER 4.

EDITORIAL.

The importance of a satisfactory head-
light for a bicycle is well recognized both
an idea by those who have attempted to use anv

FOR BICYCLE

builders. one °f tne standard headlights, and by
those who have been so unfortunate as
to encounter a " scorcher " riding at
night without a lantern. Most bic3Tclists prefer to ride
entirely without a light for the reason that the lanterns
on the market are not capable of giving a sufficient
amount of illumination to materially aid the rider in
picking his way, though there is no doubt that for pedes-
trians some visual notice of the coming of so noiseless a
vehicle is important.

The photometric tests presented in another column
show an extraordinary small amount of candle power of
the standard oil lanterns in spite of the fact that the en-
tire light from the flame is concentrated in one direction
by means of lenses and reflectors. The burden of the
additional weight of a battery for an electric light, which
is far more satisfactory, is in general too-great- to receive
unqualified endorsement at the hands of enthusiasts that
are constantly striving to attain lighter weight in bicy-
cles.

In casting around for a feasible method for an improved
illuminant for bicycle lanterns, one is struck with the
fact that for a given amount of weight and bulk there is
nothing that will exceed acetylene gas. The tubes of a
bicycle frame, which may be readily connected together,
contain a volume of about sixty-five cubic inches, and
are sufficiently strong to withstand an internal pressure
of 2000 pounds per square inch, using a factor of safety
of about seven. If an arrangement could be made for
charging these tubes with a burning mixture of acety-
lene and carbon mon-oxide to a pressure not exceeding
600 pounds to the square inch, sufficient gas might be
stored to furnish a burner giving about twelve candle
power for a period of at least four hours. Burners con-
taining reducing valves for burning the gas unHer these
conditions are on the market, and in use in the Pintsch

gas systems which illuminate the standard railway
trains. The difficult}' of charging is one which might
readily be overcome by the establishment of hand pumps
in bicycle repair shops, while the burden of weight and
expense would not be very much greater than they are
at present with coal oil illumination.

Eecent information which has just

been furnished concerning the capitaliza-

concerning . !,.,.,,„

the new various electrical interests of

Sacramento. the city of Sacramento has proven the
error of surmises lately published in
this paper to the effect that unless con-
solidation or other combination should occur, the city
named is on the eve of a struggle of commercial suprem-
acy between its two electric systems. " One side," it
was pointed out, " is ranged on the vantage ground of
abundant water power, but its forces are crippled because
of the heavy interest charges that must be met ; the op-
posing side is free from bonded indebtedness. Its interest
charges are light, and by the substitution of gas engines
for its present steam plant, and by effecting other changes,
it can render service at exceedingly low rates."

The interests referred to are those of the Sacramento
Electric Power and Light Company and the Capital Gas
Company, respectively, and the publication has brought
out new information, from which it appears that the
bonded debt of the Capital Gas Company is $150,000 in
twentj7 year 6 per cent, bonds, issued on November 1st,
1890, and that its capital stock is $500,000, in 10,000
shares of $50 each, representing au investment of
$650,000. The proportion of this amount that is
chargeable to the electric plant may be assumed to be
about 50 per cent, approximately per 1000 horse-power.
It also appears from statements furnished by the Sacra-
mento Electric Power and Light Company that of the en-
tire bonded issue of the latter company, amounting to
$1,500,000, only $300,000 was expended for hydraulic
works and exclusive water power privileges. The street
railway system of Sacramento, which covers the entire
city and which already earns a sum equal to the entire
amount of "the fixed charges of the Sacramento Electric
Power and Light Company, cost $600,000.

Further figures rendered are of interest as showing
that the expenditures on account of the present hydraulic
and electric generating plant (of 4000 horse-power) to-
gether with the transmission line to Sacramento and the
new electrical equipment of the sub-station, amounted to
$375,000, in addition to which the sum of approximately
$125,000 was expended in the construction of the Folsom
power house and the Sacramento sub-station. These ex-
penditures make an aggregate issue fo bonds amounting
to $1,400,000, leaving a reserve of $100,000 in bonds in
the Company's treasury.

Bearing in mind the fact that the revenues of the
street railway system, which consumes but about one-fifth
of the power output of the present plant, are alone suffi-
cient to defray all fixed charges on the entire transmis-
sion and street railway plant, it is evident that the Sac-
ramento Electric Power & Light Company is in a posi-
tion not only to meet any competition that may arise,

Oct, 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

93

ELECTRIC TRACTION
FOR

but to furnish power at figures that will seem astonish-
ingly low to Californians. Indeed, the era of cheap
power for Sacramento may be said to have opened by
the awarding of the contract to the Sacramento Electric
Power and Light Company for lighting the streets of the
city at a rate one-third lower than had been paid before,
but which rate is nevertheless highly profitable to the
Company because of its ability to deliver electric power
at exceedingly low cost.

The fact that the excellence of the
country roads throughout the English
agricultural districts has not prevented
,.0nNrKy roads *he farmers from demanding a cheaper
method of transportation for the produce
than can be obtained by the ordinary
means of haulage by teams, indicates that the movement
for good roads, which is so universal throughout this
country, demands most careful consideration and investi-
gation. The claim is made by those advocating an im-
provement in the character of the highways that this
improvement is demanded by agricultural commuuities.
In England, as has been stated, these communities are at
the present time asking for light railwa3's to take the
place of team haulage. In this country the movement
for good roads has been successful niainly in suburban
districts, where their introduction has changed the land
from property valuable as agricultural investments to
property even more valuable for suburban residences,
and when the work which has been actually done in
making good roads is examined carefully, it is found that
the cases in which progress has been made are very
rarely in the midst of an agricultural community. In
our last issue we noticed the success attendant upon un-
dertaking the introduction of freight cars on the Oak-
land and Haywards (Cal.) electric line, and the fact is
that these freight cars are being patronized by trucking
teamsters, who find it cheaper to load their wagons upon
the cars rather than to haul them to the city by teams.

In the State of Ohio a Legislative Commission has re-
ported that the expense of putting the highways in the
condition demanded by the advocates of good roads
would be nearly if not quite equal to the expense inci-
dent to the laying of tram tracks along all of these high-
ways and equipping the greater portion of them with
electric power. In a thickly settled suburban district
there is no doubt but that the availability of the high-
ways for pleasure driving and bicycling is more impor-
tant than their adaptability for heavy teaming, but, in
localities where the question of haulage is the more im-
portant one, we should be very slow in assuming that a
greater economy to the community can be obtained by
the improvement of the highways as a whole than by any
means which would facilitate heavy haulage irrespective
of the adaptability to light driving. A roadway 30 or 40
feet wide is unnecessary for the purposes of heavy haul-
age, all that is required being a solid tread for the wheels
of the trucks used, and, if no other motive power is pro-
vided, a solid way for the horses.

Such a road as this was constructed long ago over the
swampy ground lying between the cities of Albany and

Schenectady, in the State of New York, the tread for the
wheels being long granite blocks, about fourteen inches
wide, between which cobbles were laid for bearing the
weight of the horses. Thousands of tons of merchandise
have been carried over this road during the past twenty-
five years, and a better road or easier haulage would be dif-
ficult to find when the purposes for which it was designed
are taken into account. Throughout the State of Cali-
fornia there are immense quantities of timber, building
stone and ore which cannot be worked for a greater por-
tion of the year on account of the impassable condition
of the highways, and to bring the roads to such a condi-
tion that teaming would be possible throughout all sea-
sons of the year would, in general, cost more to the com-
munity than could possibly be afforded. At the same time
it would be wrong to say that no endeavor should be made
to make these sources of wealth more commonly availa-
ble. In many such regions the laying of a simple tram-
way with a tread adapted to wagon wheels would solve
the problem, while in some regions, where water power
is available, it might be economical to equip the roads
with electric power, and should this he done it would
not be necessary to utilize any other rolling stock than
the ordinary country wagon. We are not aware that
this plan has been tried on any established tramway,
though the analogous scheme of hauling country wagons
by the means of a road engine has been found econom-
ical, both throughout the confines of our own State and
in many other localities adapted to the use of the steam-
road engine.

Advocating this plan may be looking very far iato the
future, but it certainly seems that, with the general ad-
vance in engineering knowledge, we may hope that, in
considering the question of the improvement of high-
ways, more of our County Commissioners may consider
the economy to be obtained in haulage of produce by
laying iron tramways which will be ultimately adaptable
to the purposes of electric haulage.

The importance of compressed air as

a means of transmitting power is more

transmission readily appreciated on the Pacific Coast,

by where successful mine plants have been

compressed air. for gQ many yearg using air compressors,

than in sections of the country where
this work is entirely unfamiliar.

Although the transmission of power by the means of
water at a pressure of 750 pounds per square inch has
been financially successful in London, and the steam
distributing plant in New York has undoubtedly paid
ample dividends, yet the difficulties encountered by the
two companies using these systems have been so great
that it is doubtful whether there will be in future any
considerable amount of power distributed in this manner
from plants yet to be constructed.

The transmission of power by means of natural gas
through long pipe lines has been so completely success-
ful in this country, and the great economy of the Popp
compressed air system in Paris, indicate that these
means of transmission may become competitors of elec-
trical transmission systems over very considerable dis-

94

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

tances. The transmission of fuel gas at a high pressure
is not of particular importance where the coal mines are
distant, except in so far as the construction and mainte-
nance of the pipe line bears upon the question of the
transmission of compressed air. The fact that the com-
bined efficiency of an air compressor and motor may
reach as high a value as 80 per cent, shows that the high
efficiencies realized with dynamos and motors may be
equalled and perhaps exceeded with compressed air appa-
ratus.

The great advantages incident to a compressed air
transmission are to be seen when we consider that the
power is readily subdivided into small units, and that
an ordinary steam engine, with but few modifications, is
capable of acting efficiently as an air motor ; that the
danger of life and property is a minimum when it is
compared to any other system of transmission, and that
no return mains are necessary, either for obtaining the
greatest economy, or for the disposition of disagreeable
products. As regards the efficiency of transmission,
compressed air is at a disadvantage only when compared
with electricity at a high tension transmitted by over-
head lines, although recent statements are made by
pneumatic engineers which may lead to the economical
use of air at high pressure.

With air at 115 pounds initial absolute pressure, and
an initial velocity of 25 feet per second, the terminal
pressure at the end of ten miles will be equal to 85.7
pounds and the terminal velocity equal to 33.6 feet per
second, when a twelve-inch main is used. If the initial
velocity is increased to 50 feet per second, then at the
end of six miles the pressure will have been reduced to
that of the atmosphere. It is therefore seen that pipes
of a large diameter must be laid for the transmission of
compressed air at low pressures over a considerable dis-
tance, and that although the total amount of power trans-
mitted will be increased, it has not yet been definitely de-
termined whether any advance in efficiency is obtained by
increasing the initial pressures. The new mains laid
by the Paris Compressed Air System, 7 kilometers in
length and 20 inches in diameter, using air at 90 pounds
per square inch, are capable of transmitting 6000 horse-
power. With a main of this size, the necessary con-
struction for guarding against excessive leakages is of
course very expensive, and in some instances it has been
found necessary to lay double mains, one enclosing the
other, in the natural gas region, where pressures from
250 to 500 pounds per square inch have been encoun-
tered. The demand for high-pressure air-pipes will no
doubt produce something much better and cheaper than
is now to be obtained, and the immediate future will de-
termine whether high-pressure air is to be a successful
rival of high-tension electrical currents. For shorter
distances and lower pressures we have the results of the
Paris Company to assure us that h loss of pressure ex-
ceeding 8 per cent, is unnecessary in a city net-work
containing thirty-four miles of pipe. This economy, we
think, compares favorably with the results obtained in
the transmission of electricity over small distances, and
indicates that in cases where large water powers are

available near manufacturing centers, the question of
the total initial cost of plant and economy of manage-
ment demands very careful consideration before it is
possible to say that an electrical transmission is the more
certain to be successful.

Electrical transmission has the undoubted advantage
of having been more completely exploited and the
sources of economy more completely understood, but
with the introduction of more efficient air compressors
and motors we are beginning to see the possibility of a
serious competitor in compressed air for delivering
power to many consumers throughout a manufacturing
center.

Of late several classes of the National
School of Electricity have been organized
national school in several cities of the Pacific Coast under
electricity. a &an °^ instruction similar to the Cha-
tauqua courses in literary circles. The
lesson leaves of the National School were
prepared by Prof. Dugald C. Jackson, of the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, which at once places their
accuracy and reliability above question. The mode
of procedure is simple. Upon the organization of
a class in any locality an instructor is selected who
uses the leaflets as a text, illustrating each lesson
by means of experimental apparatus furnished by the
school. Each course embodies some thirty odd lessons,
at the conclusion of which the student should have ac-
quired at least elementary information concerning the
fundamental principles and the general applications of
electrical science. The student will have learned, for
instance, how to technically distinguish between an
electrical possibility and an electrical impossibility — a
perception, which, if possessed by all businessmen, would
prevent investment in the many fraudulent schemes that
are daily foisted upon the credulous public. The Na-
tional School does not profess to turn out finished elec-
trical engineers, and those aspiring to thoroughness in
that profession must look to such well-established seats
of learning as the University of California or Stanford
University for their education. Its course is one emi-
nently adapted to the needs of the business man who
desires general information concerning electrical matters
but who has neither the time nor the inclination to make
himself profound in the subject.

The National School of Electricity has been the recip-
ient of no little comment, favorable or otherwise, at the
hands of the electrical press. We know that the names on
its honorary faculty insure accuracy and thoroughness in
the technical preparation of its lesson leaves throughout
the scope they are designed to include. The School has
struck a popular chord, for it now has enrolled through-
out the country upwards of 4000 students, while, in the
west, hundreds stand ready to enlist when they are con-
vinced that the administration of the scheme shall prove
as unimpeachable as are the names of its honorary fac-
ulty. With the organization of the San Francisco class
of the National School is presented an opportunity for
determining the real efficacy of a scheme that the eastern
electrical press and reports have harped discordant^
upon, and the conclusions thus reached will here be
recorded.

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

95

passing Qomment.

AN EDITORIAL REVIEW OF CURRENT EVENTS AND
PUBLICATIONS OF OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

The Electrical Engineer has devoted prominent space
to an article by Mr. George D. Burton on smelting re-
fractory ores in an electric furnace, in which he reports
results that may be important to California miners ; in
fact a number of the experiments seem to have taken
place in this State, though the results which are stated
most concretely refer to the smelting of copper ores in
Canada. " Electricity " has charged that the statements
in this article are manifestly inaccurate, though it does
not venture to give any figures to show where the inac-
curacies lie. Perhaps exception might be taken to the
statement made by Mr. Burton that the smelting charges
for gold and silver ores amount to as much as seventeen
dollars per ton, though he is very careful to state that
this is true only in some cases. A smelter charging so
high a price would hardly do a very exlensive business
amongst California miners. On the other hand, in giv-
ing a concrete example of what can be done with his
electrical furnace, Mr. Burton states that he has smelted
a ton of Canadian nickel ore with an expenditure of
2000 amperes at 250 volts in forty minules, producing a
mat containing 27^ per cent, of pure nickel. The energy
delivered in the time stated by Mr. Burton amounts to
the delivery to the ore of about a million and a quarter
of heat units. While taking the statement made by the
best Government assayers that Canadian nickel ore con-
tains about 3 per cent of nickel and a similar amount of
copper in " gangue " (composed mainly of iron pyrites)
and referring to the table of specific heats given by F.
W. Clarke in his Smithsonian publication, we find that
more than three million heat units will be required to
raise the mass of a ton of ore to the temperature of
smelting. This presents a discrepancy in figures, which
Mr. Burton will find hard to reconcile.

Judging from the articles seen in several recent papers,
it appears that the manufacturers of incandescent lamps
are greatly concerned over the question of a satisfactory
universal lamp base to facilitate the handling of stocks
in these days of low prices. One will readily appreciate
the difficulty when it is stated that an incandescent
lamp manufacturer must carry stocks of fifteen or twenty
different voltages, and that these lamps may be ordered
at any time to fit in one of half a dozen different kinds
of lamp sockets. The cost of the caps for the different
sockets vary from one-half cent to five cents, yet
lamp users can rarely see why they should pay more for
a Schaefer or Thomson-Houston base than they would
for an Edison or a Westinghouse. Undoubtedly the
elimination of many odd bases, and the reduction to one
or two forms would facilitate carrying stocks, and greatly
decrease the cost of manufacture, but on the other hand,
the user sometimes has good reason for his choice of a
definite socket or of more than one socket in the same
building. Plants which are run from storage batteries,
and plants in which the regulation of light is affected by
a change of voltage in different parts of the system, as
well as occasional plants using both direct and alterna-
ting system of different voltages need an easy method of
separating their stocks of lamps, and there is no surer
guard against error on the part of ignorant workmen
than can be found by using different sockets for different
kinds of lamps. There is also the need in hotels and
public buildings that the exchange of lamps from one
socket to another be kept entirely in the hands of work-
men appointed to make such changes, and as no method

for locking a lamp in its socket has been devised, such
plants must be equipped with more than a single style of
base. If there is so urgent a need for the solution of
this question, it may be found rather in the method em-
ployed by German lamp manufacturers than in the at-
tempt to have a standard base adopted. The lamp mak-
ers in Germany, who are undoubtedly producing and
selling lamps at a lower price than those elsewhere, have
for some time adopted the plan of putting the lamps on
the market entirely without bases, and allowing selling
agents and central stations to do their own capping, and,
where capping is done by the manufacturer, to make a
charge covering the cost of the particular cap applied to
the lamp. Under such circumstances, lamps can be had
at a definite cost for the lamp itself, and all users of the
lamps adopt the particular socket which will allow the
cheapest lamp base adaptable to their needs.

In the Electrical World for September 14th appeared
an article by Keppele Hall appealing for better con-
struction work ou the part of contractors doing interior
wiring, in which the sweeping assertion is made that this
work is done on an average by men incompetent on ac-
count of deficiency in training, and who are both unable
and unwilling to do so much as a neat job in carpenter-
ing. No doubt, in many small towns where electricity
has only recently been introduced into dwellings, there
is much justice in this statement, but we hardly think
that it is true on an average that men doing electrical
wiring are of the character described. No better proof
of the improvement in efficiency made by electrical con-
tractors can be found, than on the one hand, the gradual
disappearance of the poorest grades of insulation on the
market, and the steady growth of manufacturing com-
panies who have uniformly preserved a high standard for
their wares. Ou the other hand, we have the results
published by the insurance inspectors to prove that, in
spite of the great increase in the use of electricity dur-
ing the past years, the proportion of fires due to de-
fective workmanship in electrical installations has very
greatly decreased. It is unfortunate that it has become
the custom on the part of men of short experience, who
have established themselves in districts where a greater
or less amount of slipshod work is going on, to jump at
once to the conclusion that their experience is the com-
mon one throughout the country. On the contrary, the
average character of the electrical contractors is steadily
rising, and architects are recognizing the necessity for
the aid of efficient electrical engineers in laying out and
subdividing the wiring systems, until throughout the
manufacturing centers of New England, as well as in
most large cities, but little work is undertaken without
the personal supervision of some engineer. It appears
that at no time in the history of electric lighting has
there been less call for such a plea than at the present,
and there is no doubt but that if the present demand for
efficient superintendence in electrical uudertakiugs is
continued, the slipshod contractor will disappear on ac-
count of the unfavorable character of his business.

The Electrical Review of September 25th prints an
interesting article on Hornsby-Akroyd Petroleum En-
gine, which may take an important position in the field
for cheap prime movers, and which contains elements
that might profitably be studied by the local manufac-
turers of gasoline engines. It has been the practice of
gasoline engine manufacturers to rely almost entirely
upon an electric spark for iguiting their gases, and every
user of these engines knows the difficulties that are en-
countered in . keeping the batteries, spark coils and
conductors in working order. English engineers have
largely abandoned the spark coil for a porcelain tube ex-

96

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

tending into the explosion chamber, and maintained at a
red heat by means of a small Bunsen burner playing
upon the inside of the tube. By this means, the ignition
of the mixture is effected whenever the mixture of gases
attains the proper constitution and density, and, as a re-
sult, more constant service has been attained. From the
standpoint of the manufacturer, the certainty of ignition
may seem less important than a complexity of governing
gear, and we venture to assert that should our manufac-
turers overcome this great trouble to the users of such
engines, there would be small objection raised to the
added parts necessary for effecting governing by the
variation of the amount of injected gas.

literature.

Facts and Hian Pressure. Pamphlets for gratuitous circu-
lation, Babcock and Willcox Company, New York, 1895, by
Chas. C. Moore & Co., Pacific Coast Managers, 32 First street,
San Francisco.

We have lately received from the Babcock and Will-
cox Company two pamphlets concerning the manufac-
ture of water tube boilers. These pamphlets are addi-
tions to their very valuable book on " Steam," which is
familiar to all engineers. In the pamphlet entitled
" Facts " is contained descriptions of the various water
tube boilers designed in this and other countries from the
early attempts of Stevens in 1805 down to the more
modern boilers exhibited at the Chicago Fair. All of
the designs are here described under four distinct heads:
First, boilers containing tubes with closed ends ; sec-
ondly, boilers composed of bent pipes ; thirdly, boilers
composed of pipes and fittings ; and fourthly, boilers
composed of pipes closed at both ends. In each case the
boilers are described with the implication that they have
been abandoned on account of the impossibility of clean-
ing the tubes, but it seems to be too much of an as-
sumption for any manufacturer to claim that such boil-
ers as the Thorneycroft, Morrin or Sterling have been
entirely abandoned, or to imply that the Henshall
boiler is no longer manufactured. There is no doubt
but that this pamphlet contains a great number of im-
portant forms, and, directly considered, will guard the
purchaser against abandoned experiments, though it is
unfortunate that no tests are given with any of these im-
portant designs.

In the pamphlet on " High Pressure " we are pleased
to see so complete a description of the methods of man-
ufacture and materials used in producing the Babcock
and Willcox boilers for high pressure steam. Recent
advances in steam engine manufacture have created a
demand for boilers capable of delivering steam at pres-
sures even as high as 200 pounds per square inch.
Where such high pressures are used it is necessary that
we be assured of perfection in every part of the manu-
facture of the boiler, and it is no small consideration to
the engineer for him to be able to see so well an estab-
lished firm as the Babcock and Willcox Company are,
manufacturing their admirable type of boiler in a manner
calculated to give as nearly perfect results as can be ob-
tained.

Electrical Measurements: A Laboratory Manual; H. S.
Carhart, M. A., L. L. D., and G. W. Patterson, Jr., M. A.,
B. S. Allyn & Bacon, Boston, pp. 350.

It is with considerable satisfaction that we take up the
Laboratory Manual of Professors Carhart and Patterson,
and notice that the modern methods of measurement
heretofore accessible only in " Gray's Treatise on Abso-
lute Measurements" have been reduced to such clearness
that they become intelligible to students, and suscepti-
ble of being applied by the average engineer. The spe-
cial apparatus of the particular laboratory from which

the book is issued has not dominated the character of
this treatise or burdened it with the defects of other
laboratory manuals which have been heretofore issued.
The fact that these authors have treated the subject of
electrical measurements from the stand-point of the phy-
sicist rather than that of the electrical engineer, has di-
vested their work of a considerable amount of complica-
tion and unnecessary detail, while at the same time an
extension of their methods of measur3ment to practical
application lies within the power of an engineer using
the book, on account ef the distinctness with which the
various quantative measurements are explained. Being
written from the standpoint of physical electrical meas-
urements, the subjects treated are limited to the meas-
urements of resistance, current, electro-motive forces,
quantity and capacity, induction, magnetization and
hysteresis. The discussion of units, which forms the in-
troduction to the work, are entirely in accordance with
the scientific c. g. s. system, and treat the results of the
Paris and Chicago conventions most completely. The
entire elimination of all other systems from this chapter
unfortunately fails to clear up the mind before the aver-
age student the complete subject of dimentional formula.
Even the physicist must occasionally refer to the papers
of engineers where complicated unit systems are in use,
and it seems that the authors would not have degraded
the quality of their work had they introduced examples
showing the methods of conversion from the British unit
systems into the scientific c. g. s. system.

Where apparatus has been described as in the case of
resistance boxes, galvanometers and scales, balances,
standard cells and standards of capacity, the treatment
is particularly rational and specific ; though the neces-
sity for absolute cleanliness and high insulation of all
kej's and wires is given more by implication than direct
instruction, which is perhaps all that is necessary in a
well-arranged laboratory, where tables are dry and free
from fog and dust, but which must be insisted upon both
to the practical engineer and to the student working
under less than ideal conditions. In the same vein we
would desire more specific instruction concerning the
adjustment of a differential galvanometer throughout
its range of reading, rather than simply at the zero
point. The treatment of the Wheatstone bridge and its
errors is noticeably complete, but the difficulty in locat-
ing the minimum point of deflection of the galvanometer,
which most students experience, might well be borne in
mind, and the production of an appreciable swing by
timing the contact and periodicity of the galvanometer
as used by Faraday and Henry should not be considered
beneath the notice of the modern experimenter. The
example given of the change of resistance of a dielectric
with electrification shows this action, although in the
text of the experiment we fail to find any mention of its
existence or signification.

It is fortunate that so clear a description of the silver
and copper voltameter has been at last made acces-
sible to those not having Raleigh's papers or Gray's
Manual at their hand, and the familiarization of this
piece of apparatus will tend much to the accurate cali-
bration of commercial apparatus. While the treatment
of self and mutual induction is undoubtedly as complete
as can be found in any other book, it seems unfortunate
that the difficulties attendant upon the measurement of
distributed capacities and self induction are not indi-
cated with sufficient clearness to avoid the confusion of
their measurement with the measurements of localised
capacity and self induction. When we come to the sub-
ject of magnetism and hysteresis we find the best
recognized methods carefully explained, though the
errors of Hopkinson's bar and yoke and Bidwell's di-
vided ring methods in the hands of an ordinary experi-

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

97

menter seem to be too lightly called to attention. The
fact that the machine work, to give accurate results
with these methods and to eliminate the influence of the
gap at the division of the bar or ring, is one that is uu-
likely to occur to the average observer who may rely
upon these methods. It is to be regretted that these
authors have not treated the subject of the absolute
measurement of resistance, since the apparatus of Lorentz
has become almost a necrssary adjunct to any laboratory
where low resistance of great carrying capacity is ad-
justed. The criticisms that have been made of this book
are not at all intended to indicate that the work is ma-
terially lacking in either scope or method of treatment,
but, on the contrary, we have nothing that has hereto-
fore given us so carefully and well the best recoguizt-d
method of physical electrical measurements.

CRUDE PETROLEUM. FOR FUEL.

By Geo. H. Larkim.

Believing that consumers of steam power will be in-
terested in the result of some tests recently made by the
writer in the use of crude petroleum for fuel, I have
prepared the following. The tests were made under
horizontal return flue tubular boilers at the works of
the Pacific Rolling Mills, San Francisco, using the Union
Oil Company's standard 23 degree gravity fuel oil from
the Santa Paula (Cal.) oil fields, fed through the Larkin
oil burner.

The oil was pumped from a car tank into an old ship
tank holding about 90 barrels, which was placed on a
platform slightly raised from the ground about 60 feet
from the boilers, on which were placed two drums, 28.4
inches in diameter and about^ 40^nche_s_high. These
two drums were connected to the ship tank and also to
the oil pump used for feeding the burners, and were
filled and emptied alternately, 30 inches of oil being
used out of drum No. 1, which was then disconnected
and filled, when drum No. 2 was connected and 30 inches
useil out of it after the same manner. The water con-
sumed was handled in the same way, two water tanks
being used that were tilled from the Spring Valley Water
Company's system, and 60 inches of water being taken
from tanks Nos. 1 and 2 alternately. The oil weighed
19 pounds to each inch in depth of the drum, and the
water weighed 257 pounds to the inch in depth of tank.
While the weight of the water is, of course, constant,
the weight of the oil varies, but as all fuel oil is sold by a
standaid measured unit of 42 gallons to a barrel, the
same number of pounds per inch in drum was allowed,
as in previous tests made with other oils, which was con-
sidered the simplest and most satisfactory way of deter-
mining the comparative value of different oils.

These boilers have been used for all of the previous
fuel tests made at the Rolling Mills, and were in good
condition, being clean and of good draught, but they
were not enclosed in the building. All water connections
for both feed and blow-off were disconnected, and blind
gaskets were put in where necessary. The boilers were
fed by an injector to the disconnected end of the boiler
feed pipe, and the steam pipe leading from the boiler
was connected to the main steam line of the Rolling
Mills, and regular fires were kept up during the entire
time of tests Nos. 1 and 2.

For test No. 3, the boilers were separated from the
main line and were used to run the 6 and 8-inch mills
alternately. This necessitated frequent stoppage of the
fire, as at short intervals the mills were shut down and
the consumption of steam was only about one-half of
the rating of the two boilers. The amounts of water
and oil used were carefully measured by men appointed

by Mr. P. Noble, Superintendent of the Rolling Mills,
and their work was continued during the two or more
weeks of the test.

The results obtained from the three tests made are
shown in the accompanying table.

Test No. 1 designates the first week's run, from which
it will be observed that the boilers were forced con-
siderably above their normal rating, and that conse-
quently the terminal temperature was too high for good
econom}7. The apparent high evaporative efficiency un-
der the conditions given is due to the fact that the oil
used was about 9% heavier than was allowed by the
measurements per inch in the oil drum, as before ex-
plained.

In test No. 2 the stack temperature was reduced to a
more theoretical point, and the boilers were run to about
their nominal rating, and, as a result, test No. 2 shows
considerably better efficiency than test No. 1. The in-
creased evaporation is the direct result of a reduced
terminal temperature, and the high efficiency attained
is due to the fact that the furnace temperature was very
high, while the terminal temperature was almost theo-
retical. That these boilers furnish practically dry steam
to the main line is an assured fact, and while no calori-
meter was used, there was no lack of opportunity to
observe the appearance of the steam at the openings left
at the connections of the steam pipe to the steam drum
on the boilers, and at these points the steam showed
bluish in color and nearly transparent at some distance
from the orifice.

While the results of test No. 3 are absolutely correct,
they are apt to be misleading, unless more fully ex-
plained. The boilers were disconnected from the main
line, as stated, and were connected to the 8-inch mill
without any stoppage, and as they had been running for
112 hours continuously, at their normal rating, the heat
stored up in the brick work became active upon the fires
being reduced, and the boilers ran at about one-half the
rated capacity. This explains the high showing made
by oil in this separated test, the duration of which was
ouly 8i hours. The percentage of gain would of course
be less the longer the test was continued.

In tests Nos. 1 and 2 the fires were started under cold
boilers, and the amount of oil used in getting up steam
is included in the table. At the conclusion of the tests,
the oil and feed water were shut off at almost the same
time, the water in the gauge glasses being brought up to
the same level as when starting up. This left the boilers
full of hot water, and the brick work hot, for which the
oil received no credit. This difference is plainly shown
by comparing a continuous run with the 24-hour run, in
which the test started and stopped with hot boilers. For
instance, the oil and water report for August 30th,
shows that the oil used from 11:27 p. m. on the 29th, to
11:09 p. m. on the 30th, was 360 inches, or 6840 pounds,
the time being 23 hours and 28 minutes, and water used
from 9:10 p. m. on the 29th, to 9:35 p. m. on the 30th,
was 420 inches, or 107,940 pounds, the time being 24
hours and 25 minutes. As the difference in time was 57
minutes between the beginning and ending measure-
ments for the water and oil respectively, a deduction of
about 15 inches, or 3855 pounds of water, should be
made, which makes the water and oil consumption on
August 30th to be as follows :

Oil consumed : 6,840 lbs.

Water evaporated 1 04,085 lbs.

Water evaporated, per pound of oil

under actual conditions 15.21 lbs.

Water evaporated per pound of oil

from and at 212 F 18.31 lbs.

A deduction of 9% from these results should be made
for the difference between the drum measurement and

9§

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

the actual weight of the oil, which brings the actual
evaporation from and at 212° F. per pound of oil to 16.67
pounds for a continuous run of 23 hours and 28 minutes.

CRUDE PETROLEUM FOR FUEL.

Oil used, California crude, from Santa Paula, Cal.
Kind of boilers, horizontal return tubular.

Test No. 1.

Size of boilers 54"xl6'

Number and size of flues.. 54 4"

Rated horse power 75

Steam pressure 75

Temperature of feed water 60° F.

Stack temperature (av'g). 600 F.

Total oil consumption .... 46,217 lbs.

Total water evaporation.. 707,778 lbs.
Pounds of water (60 )

evaporated ~f lb of oil. . 14.09 lbs.
Pounds of water (212°)

evaporated ~f> lb of oil. . 16.79 lbs.

Total EP developed 27,231 .5

EP per hour 260

IP per boiler 130

Oil used per LP hour 1.8 lbs.

Duration of test 104 h. 35 m.

boratory of the Edison Light and Power Company of
San Francisco, the photometer having a distance of 100
inches between centers. For a standard, a 16 candle-
power incandescent lamp, previously standardized from
standard English sperm candles burning 120 grains per

Test No. 2.

Test No. 3.

54"xl6'

54"xl6'

54 4"

54 4"

75

75

75

75

60 F.

60 F.

480 F.

400 F.

31,198 lbs.

1,463 lbs.

460,030 lbs.

23,130 lbs.

14.74 lbs.

15.80 lbs.

17.55 lbs.

18.83 fts.

17,634

886

157

104

78.5

52

1.7 lbs.

1.6 lbs.

112 h. 9 m.

8h. 30m.

SOME TESTS OF BICYCLE LANTERNS.

By F. E.' Smith.

Believing that publications of the tests of the various
means in use for lighting bicycles at the present time will
be of popular if not technical interest, the writer gives be-
low the results of measurements originally made as a mat-
ter of personal satisfaction. Before presenting the same it
is well, however, to point out the distinction that should
be drawn between a riding light and the signal light.
The lanterns ordinarily used can, after a consideration
of these experiments, be considered only as signal lights,
or those containing visual warning of approach. As a
means of illuminating the roadway they can be consid-
ered only as a partial or doubtful success. With a riding
light, however, the roadway becomes sufficiently illumi-
nated for thirty or forty feet, or even a greater distance
ahead, so that travel can be accomplished with ease and
safety. In the present state of bicycling by night, signal
lights without number are available, but riding lights,
though eagerly sought, are not to be obtained. Original
experiment in this direction led to the construction of an
electric lantern, consisting of three cells of storage bat-
tery operating a small one candle-power incandescent
lamp arranged in a suitable reflector placed upon a bicy-
cle, as shown in the accompanying illustration. This is
the apparatus referred to below.

The two forms of oil lanterns which are believed to
be the best were selected for the test. These burned
signal oil and kerosene oil, respectively, and their
weights, when filled, were 20 and 40 ounces, respectively.
They were tested under the best possible conditions as
to trimming, polish, etc.

The electric lantern is operated, as stated, from three
cells of storage battery of the Hough type, each cell
containing two plates li inches by 3f inches in size.
The lamp used was manufactured by Geo E. Lamont, a
San Francisco manufacturer, and is rated at one candle-
power, is of 4 watts efficiency, and consuming .7 of an
ampere at 6 volts. The battery will operate this lamp
about four hours continuously. The weight of the bat-
tery and lamp complete is 36 ounces.

All candle-power measurements were made by means
of the standard Lummer-Brodhen photometer in the la-

Sojie Tests op Bicycle Lanterns.

per hour, was used, and under these conditions, which
are accurate, the various lanterns gave the following
tests :

Oil lantern No. 1, burning signal oil 3/4 candle power.

Oil lantern No. 2, burning kerosene 6}4 "

Electric lantern, consuming 42 watts 45

I may add, as an illustration of the efficiency of the
electric lantern, that during the recent eclipse of the
moon, when no street lamps were lighted and the streets
of San Francisco were in intense darkness, I was able,
with the aid of the electric lantern on my bicycle, to
discern another bicyclist turn into the street at the fur-
ther end of the block, a distance of 600 feet away. The
electric lantern gives a splendid riding light and illu-
minates the roadway brilliantly for a distance of 50
feet. In addition to the headlight, there can be used a
rear electric lantern, operated from the same battery, to
be used as a signal light. In my machine this consists
of a red light attached to the saddle post and pointing
backward.

Mr. G. P. Low has decided to call his excellent elec-
trical paper, published in San Francisco, The Journal
of Electricity, under which name he will continue to
demonstrate the high stage that electrical engineering
and education has reached on the Pacific slope. — Elec-
trical Engineer, New York.

We have at last received a copy of the first issue of
our new contemporary. The venture has received no
little attention in the United States, and it is with
interest that we turn over its pages * * * The
articles are good. — Electricity, London.

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

99

A COMMERCIAL SUCCESS FROM A MUNICIPAL
FAILURE.

A noteworthy instance in which municipal authorities
have taken up the question of city lighting and have in-
stalled a plant to meet the conditions which they believe
to have existed, and after extensive trial have failed to
score a success, while the same plant after having passed
into the control of private parties has rapidly built up
into a paying venture, is illustrated in the station at
Berkeley, Cal., the interior of which is shown in the ac-
companying cut, reproduced by the permission of the
Berkeley Herald.

In 1893 the town of Berkeley, Cal., after a profitless
experience in running its own electric plant, advertised
for bids for the lease of the plant and doing the city
lighting. Two competitors for the contract — the Oak-
land Gas, Light and Heat Company, and the San Fran-
cisco Electric Company — made bids that were the same,
but in the specifications of the latter were details advan-
tageous to Berkeley, by reason of which the San Fran-
cisco company secured the contract. On September 11th

ELECTRICITY EST PLANT GROWTH.

The original
Stuart-Smith

ideas presented
on •' Electricity

in
in

A Commercial Success fhom a Municipal Failure

of the year named, the San Francisco Electric Company,
through Mr. J. Geo. Gardner, General Manager, secured
control of the plant by effecting a combination with the
Berkeley Electric Light, Heat and Power Company, and
the reorganized concern, under Mr. Gardner's manage-
ment, soon placed the enterprise on a business basis, and
at present the investment is rendering satisfactory re-
turns.

Among the first improvements made in the old instal-
lation was the placing of a new tubular boiler and an
Eclipse Corliss Engine, each having a capacity of 200
horse power, and also the installation of two La Roche
alternators, having an output of 36 amperes and 75 am-
peres, respectively, or a combined capacity of 2000 16
candle-power incandescent lamps. In addition, the plant
operates 65 2000 candle-power arc lamps for municipal
purposes from one 75 lamp 9.6 ampere Ball arc lighting
dynamo. The incandescent service is rendered on meter
rates, with the usual results, for it is found that although
2400 lamps are wired in on the circuits, the maximum
load carried is but 800 lamps. The business is rapidly
growing, and is quite satisfactory.

the article of Lieut.
Plant Growth, and
Light in Chemical Decomposition," presented in the
September number of the Journal of Electricity, are ex-
ceedingly important suggestions of the possible connec-
tions of observed effects, which seem heretofore to have
been unconnected. The relation between the crop reports
throughout the country, and the eleven-year sun-spot
periods have long been noticed, although scientific men
have felt that rather a coincidence was indicated than
that there was any necessary connection between the
two facts. Mr. Stuart-Smith has pointed out that the
experiments of Prof. "Warner, at Amherst, Mass., seems
to give the connecting link between these observed
effects, which have heretofore appeared to be so widely
supported. Our meteorological observers have not made
the observations necessary for the proof or disproof of
Lieut. Stuart-Smith's hypothesis, though
before such observations are likely to be
undertaken it is necessary that a correla-
tion of facts, already at hand, should indi-
cate whether there is a strong probability
that such observations would lead to im-
portant results. In the records of the
astronomical observatories are to be found
complete reports of the condition of the sun
for a great number of years, and, since the
establishment of Gauss and Weber of mag-
netic observations, many records have been
preserved of the existence and character of
magnetic storms. These two sets of data
have been found to correspond with each
other, and it is now definitely believed that
the presence of spots on the sun exerts a
maguetic effect on the earth, inducing
strong earth currents. Whether the crop
reports follow more closely the periodicity
of the sun spots or of the earth currents
has not been so clearly established. The
variations in the actinic properties of sun-
light, of which Lieut. Stuart-Smith speaks,
are altogether unobserved as yet, and until
definitely proved that there is a relation
between the existence of spots upon the sun
and the actinic activity of sunlight on the
earth's surface, we will necessarily be in doubt as to
whether the characteristics of the sunlight or the exis-
tence of earth currents has a greater effect upon plant
growth. The practice of the market gardeners about

the city of Boston of forcing their vegetables by light-
ing their garden with arc lights, would indicate that an
actinic change in sunlight may probably be found to be
more influential in plant growth than the presence of
earth currents, though up to the present time experi-
ments on a large scale have not been made in forcing
plant growth by means of these currents. S.

San Francisco, October 17, 1895.

The Stirling Supply Company, 54= Second street, San
Francisco, has secured the Pacific Coast agencies for the
electric light and power apparatus of the Card Electric
Company of Mansfield, Ohio, and of the Standard Ther-
mometer Company of Peabody, Mass., manufacturers of
the well-known Upton Arc Lamp.

In responding to advertisements please mention The
Journal of Electricity.

IOO

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

A DEPARTURE IN ELECTRIC ELEVATOR
CONSTRUCTION.

A new type of direct connected electric elevator, which
presents several novel features of improvement over the
ordinary form, has recently been brought out by Messrs.
Cahill & Hall, of San Francisco, and which is shown in
side elevation in Figure 1. The particular novelty con-
sists in the way the hoisting ropes are operated, which
forms a radical departure in that the hoisting ropes are
not wound on a drum, as is the usual practice, but are
moved by friction in much the same way that the cable
of a cable railway, or the rope of the house mover, or
the ship's hawser about a capstan are pulled. The
principle upon which these appliances are operated is
that so long as the free end of the rope about the capstan,
for instance, is kept taut, the rope will keep its grip exert-
ing an amount of pull dependant upon the power excited
and the strength of the rope.

which being hinged as shown at Z, is free to tilt either
way. The major portion of the weight of the apparatus
however, is borne by the idler sheave C ", around which
the equivalent of the free end of the rope passes. The
weight of the equipment being borne on the rope through
the sheave C", furnishes the power for taking up the
slack on the free end of the rope, and if the car meets
with an obstacle preventing further travel, or if through
any mischance the car should strike the bumpers at the
top or bottom of the shaft, the rope will slip upon the
traction sheaves, and all danger or damage will be
averted. This is a feature which exists in no other form
of electric elevator equipment, and is undoubtedly of
great value, owing to the fact that with rigid connections
between the rope and the winding drum, or between the
rope and expansion or thrust sheaves, it is evident that
in event of the car striking an unyielding obstacle, the
momentum of the motor will impose fierce strains upon
the machinery that ofttimes will result in breakdown,

1

If, however, the free end of the rope is slack, the
frictional contact of the rope with the capstan will be
freed, and the rope will slip. This principle is execu-
ted in a novel way in the distinctive type of elevator
designed by Cahill & Hall. It will be seen in Figures 1
and 2 that there are two hoisting ropes. One end of
each of these is fastened to the top of a counter weight,
whence they pass up and over a sheave mounted at the
top of the elevator shaft, thence down along its side to
and twice around these traction sheaves designated as C
and C in Figure 2. From these traction sheaves the
ropes continue down and around the front idler sheave
C", shown also in Figure 3, from which it continues up,
and is made fast to the under side of the counterweight.
The elevator cage is supported by four ropes leading
from the top of the car over a sheave at the top of the
elevator shaft, thence to the top of the counterweight.

The basic principles upon which the equipment oper-
ates may now be understood. As shown in Figure 2,
the entire apparatus is rigidly mounted upon a bed plate,

Figure 1 — Departure in Electric Elevator Construction.

throwing the car upon the safety devices. To go more
fully into the modus operandi of the Cahill-Hall equip-
ment, as the front end of the apparatus is held up by
the idler sheave resting on the hoisting ropes, it is clear
that the measure of lift, which may be given to the ma-
chine, depends upon the amount of weight resting on the
hoistiug ropes, which of course is fixed by the weight of
the equipment. If more pull is exerted on the hoisting
ropes than there is weight resting upon them, evi-
dently the machine will rise, which will slacken the
ropes, and they will slip. By adjusting the weight of
the machine, the equipment may thus be made to raise
any predetermined load, any material excess of which will
cause slipping, which the makers claim to be a most im-
portant feature.

In construction, the form of motor used resembles the
waterproof type of the street railway motor to a consid-
erable extent. It is therefore of the iron-clad frame
type, and has two internal pole pieces. The particular
feature that impresses one regarding the design of the

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

101

motor is the large amount of iron in the frame, and the
entire absence of magnetic joints. The self-induction of
the field circuits is very high, and the series coil is so
proportioned that the self-induction opposes or chokes
back the abnormal current flow that would otherwise
occur at starting, because of the absence of counter-
electro-motive force due to the armature being at a
stand-still. The motor is equipped with self-oiling and
self-aligning bearings ; its weight is 2400 pounds, and its
speed is 800 revolutions per minute.

Those who are familiar with the starting torque of
various types of electric motors will appreciate result of
a test made by Edward S. Cobb, mechanical engineer,
upon the motor in question, and from his report it ap-
pears that a 15 horse-power motor having a ten inch
armature exerted a starting torque of 2,448 pounds on
the surface of the armature, and this with all the resis-
tance of the rheostat thrown in, and with no material
heating in either the rheostat or the motor.

The controller used is of the general disc type in which

eliminates the use of a thrust bearing for the worm
shaft, resulting in higher efficiency' than would be the
case with the use of but one gear. Further advantage is
rea hzed in this arrangement in that By having two gears,
each will be called upon to carry but half. the load, hence
they will wear twice as long. The gears are filled with
oil up to the center of the worm shaft, which insures per-
fect lubrication. '.. /

An equipment installed in the building of the Fred. J.
Byrne Block, Los Angeles, Cal., is so geared that for
each revolution of the armature the car travels five'
inches. The travel of the car is 55£ feet, and from
tests made, this distance was covered" in nine seconds
each way. Twenty-two seconds were consumed in mak-
ing the round trip, including starting and stopping,
while fifty-five seconds were consumed in making a
round trip with a stop at each of the five floors. To
stop at each of the five floors allowing a man to get on
and otf the car in a way as near actual conditions of
operating an elevator as is possible, required ninety

\||g\S\^^

') ■ ' I

Figure 2 — Departure in Electric Elevator Construction.

the lever consists of a straight bar insulated and swing-
ing at the center, and which, therefore, acts diametri-
cally, and brings the wipers in contact with strips so
arranged as to give the connections necessary. All
wipers and contact strips are made removable, and are
manipulated by the lever in the elevator car.

That the motor performs its work well is evident by
the smoothness and ease of both starting and stopping.
The connections given for circuit changes are such as
meet general conditions, but, of course, they may be
modified in minor, details to meet the necessities of dif-
ferent equipments. The motors are wound in standard
voltages for 500, 250 and 1 10 volts, and, except in par-
ticular instances, motors having a rating of 15 horse-
power amply satisfy all requirements.

It will be seen from the outline drawing in Figure 2
that the armature shaft is extended through insulating
couplings L L ' to the worm shaft S, upon which is keyed
the right and left hand worm gears A A ',. which drive
the main sheaves C C ' respectively. This arrangement

seconds for the round trip, all of which would indicate
that the elevator was fully to the standard of any mod-
ern high speed hydraulic elevator.

The safety devices with which the system is equipped
has been carefully worked out, and, in addition to all
ordinary mechanical safeties, two sets of solenoids — one
of which appears at K K ', the other being on the oppo-
site side — have been placed for breaking the main cir-
cuit, and throwing on the brake I ' and I respectively.
The solenoid controlling the brake I is wired in parallel
with the shunt coil of the motor, and when excited re-
leases the brake I by raising a heavy weight (not
shown) which actuates it through an ordinary form of
toggle joint. The solenoid K K' operates similarly so
far as mechanical effects are concerned, but is controlled
through contact strips on the car, which make the cir-
cuit controlling the solenoid, and at the same time throw
the brake I' and cut the main circuit by raising the lever
R, opening the main switch at Q. The main circuit
being thus broken, current is taken off the motor, and

102

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

the second solenoid (not shown) which throws on thg
second brake I as 'described.

The San Frawisco Savings and Loan Society has
furnished interesting data concerning the advantage of

Figure 3— Departure in Electric Elevator Construction.

electric over hydraulic elevators. The hydraulic equip-
ment displaced by the Cahill-Hall apparatus consisted of
an ordinary vertical cylinder elevator, operated by pres-
sure from the mains of the Spring Valley "Water Com-
pany. The water consumed was measured by the travel
of the elevator for the period stated, which averaged
12,931 feet per day, and the bills rendered from March
5th to August 5th inclusive, show an average consump-
tion of 63,800 cubic feet of water per month, which cost
an average of $118.71 per month, in comparison with
which the bill of the Edison Light & Power Co. for
electric service for the month of September, amount-
ing to $20.80, shows a marked economy in favor of the
electric elevator.

TOBOGGANING OUTDONE.

A decided novelty in the way of an attraction for the
amusement-loving public has recently been erected on a
block near the Haight street entrance to Golden Gate
Park, San Francisco, and which will doubtless be a ma-
terial factor in increasing the business of the many street
car lines of that neighborhood. The attraction consists
of what may be termed a water toboggan, or a water
chute. The chute proper consists of an inclined plane,
275 feet in length, and built with a rise of 25 per cent.
Down this chute boats will shoot with accelerating
velocity until the lake at the bottom is reached, when
the voyagers will undoubtedly have had enough.

The entire outfit is operated by electric power from
the trolley system, and the equipment consists of one
twenty-horse-power slow speed multipolar motor for
operating the elevators ; one sixty-horse-power bipolar
motor for driving a fifty-light arc dynamo ; one G. E.
800-motor operating the hoist for pulling the empty
boats up the chute, together with a pumping plant
for keeping the chute well flushed with water. Already
the city is flooded with posters asking " Have you shot
the chutes?" and before long many San Franciscans
will have experienced the fact that there is something
new under the sun.

^he ^rade.

JOHN M. KLEIN'S ELECTRICAL WORKS.

There are hundreds on the Pacific Coast who will be
pleased to learn that John M. Klein's Electrical Works
has so increased its business as to necessitate moving to
a large three-story building, Nos. 421-3 Montgomery
street, San Francisco. The present quarters are near
California street, in one of the busiest portions of the
city, and the establishment having taken the entire
building, will fit up the basement as a packing room, the
first floor as a store and salesroom, the second floor as a
warehouse, and the third floor as its factory, making it
one of the most complete electrical manufacturing and
supply houses on the Pacific Coast. This removal at
once centralizes the various interests of the concern by
bringing them under one roof in the best business por-
tion of the city.

The history of this establishment is one of singular
prosperity. Mr. Klein started in business with the
Western Union Telegraph Co., in New York City, in
1869, as a messenger boy, in which capacity he proved
so faithful that in the following year he was given a
position in the old Western Union shops on West Fifty-
fifth street, where he became a shop mate of many of the
veteran telegraphers, among whom wei'e John Gough,
A. J. Brown, Charles Bender, George Thompson and
others. For many years he remained in the factory,
and then came to San Francisco and entered the fire
alarm service, where he remained until 1880, when he
started in business for himself, his only capital being a
well-equipped set of tools and a thorough understanding
of the art. An idea of the degree of success attained
may be had from the fact that the mercantile rating of
the electrical supply house of John M. Klein's Electrical
Works is as high, if not higher, than any other similar
establishment on the Pacific Coast. Though the firm
still embraces Mr. Klein's individuality, the firm has re-
cently been enlarged by the addition of the name of Mr.
Marion L. Mowry to partnership, as a result of which
the business is being pushed to the utmost degree.

Mr. Mowry, who is a native of California, is well-
known in district messenger and electrical circles. He
was the founder of the California District Messenger
Company in 1882, and the first to start opposition to the
American District Messenger Company of San Francisco.
In various ways he has been connected with electrical
projects, and recently became interested as above stated.

ECHOES OF THE CARNIVAL.

Sacramento City has again assumed its workaday
attire, and most, if not all, of the electric lighting equip-
ment erected by the Carnival Committee for decorative
purposes has been disposed of at private sale. It now
transpires that a single supply house in San Francisco
furnished over 14,000 lamps for the Carnival, and an
equal number were obtained from other sources. The
remaining equipments in the Folsom Power House of
the Sacramento Electric Power and Light Company have
been completed, as has also the sub-station, and the sys-
tem is working to entire satisfaction.

Through inadvertence no mention was made of the
fact that credit for a great amount of work on the arches
and other illuminating effects for the Carnival was
installed by the Pacific Electrical Works. This is one
of the oldest electrical supply and construction estab-
lishments in Sacramento, having been established under
the management of C. A. Fisk in 1874, and its store at
1023 Fourth street forms a headquarters for everything
electrical.

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

103

A NEW IDEA IN TAPE.

The Okonite Company (Limited), always progressive
and leaders in all that pertains to their especial line of
goods, brought a new idea in tape to the recent street
railway convention which created a genuine sensation
and caused any amount of favorable comment. The
novelty consists of a new form in which the company is
putting out the celebrated Manson Tape, and was shown
by Captain Willard L. Candee, who was to be found
here, there and everywhere, surrounded by an inter-
ested group of the electrical fraternity eager to get
points on the " good thing."

The usual manner for supplying the trade with tape
has been for the manufacturers to put it up in half-
pound packages or rolls, incased in tin foil or other
wrapping. It is the general experience of most com-
panies that the linemen in using tape so put up, after
taking what was needed for the work in hand from the
roll, would throw what was left away, or, if they did put
it back into their kit, the wrapping would soon become
loose, the tape gather dust and dirt, and in a short time
become almost unfit for further use.

Captain Candee showed the Manson Tape, packed in
round tin boxes of two colors — red and white — both
very attractive and neat in appearance, and containing
one ounce of the tape. This is, nine times out of ten, a
sufficient quantity for any ordinary repair, and if there
be any left over it may be put back into the box, which
is conveniently small (about the size of a silver dollar),
where it will be kept fresh and clean and ready for further
use. The new form of packing meetsan evident want, and
will unquestionably mean a considerable saving to the
companies and prove a great convenience to linemen.

The Manson Tape is furnished in two colors ; the black
tape will be put up in red boxes lettered in black, the
white tape in white boxes also lettered in black.

Captain Candee returned from the convention with a
large number of valuable souvenirs in the shape of sub-
stantial orders for the novelty. It is of interest to state
that the tape put up in this way adapts itself perfectly
to the needs of cyclists as well , and will doubtless prove
as popular in that quarter as for purely electrical uses.

THE WALKER STREET RAILWAY MOTOR.

is entirely water and dust proof, and may be conve-
niently opened from below, which retains the armature
in the top half of the casing or by the removal of only
two bolts, the armature may be lowered with the bottom
half. The armature is of the toothed-drum type, pro-
vided with machine-wound, interchangeable coils. The

The latest type of motor manufactured by the Walker
Manufacturing Company, is that shown in the accom-
panying illustrations, and which at once combines all
features that have been found of value. It is of the four

Walkek Street Railway Motor.

pole single reduction steel frame type, is of light weight,
considering the output, and is in no way attached to the
axle except through the springs, which at once practi-
cally eliminates the serious items of repair to both track
and equipment, consequent to the hammering on the
track and rail joints due to rigid suspension. The motor

Walker Street Railway Motor.

field coils, which are also machine wound, can be readily
removed from the frame, and the shaft is unusually
heavy with extra large and long journals, while the
gears are run in oil in a detachable air-tight casing run
in oil. Insulation is effected by the use of mica through-
out, and every motor is tested at 5000 volts a. c. A
series parallel controller is used, which takes up an ex-
ceedingly small portion of the care platform, is both fire
and waterproof, and all parts are easy of access for in-
spection.

The Pacific Coast Agency of the Walker Manufac-
turing Co. has beeu placed with the Adner Doble Co.,
Mechanical and Electrical Engineers and Contractors of
Nos. 13 and 15 Fremont street, San Francisco, who report
the sale of a 400 horse-power multipolar Walker generator
to the Oakland Consolidated Street Railway Company,
and of fifteen street railway equipments to the Sutro
Railroad Company.

WROUGHT STEEL BOILER CONSTRUCTION.

The recent installation of 600 horse-power of new
wrought steel construction safety boilers by the Babcock
& Wilcox Company in the power house of the Sutro
Railroad Company, together with the erection of 200
horse-power of boilers for the Commercial Steam Power
Works, and 60 horse-power for the Hebrew Orphan
Asylum in San Francisco, have received close attention
by parties who are interested, as the high character of
workmanship on the forged parts and drums is some-
thing unusual. These " W. S. C." boilers, as this type
is termed, have forged steel heads, cross boxes and drum-
heads, and are designed for exceptionally high pressure.
Mr. Charles C. Moore, the Pacific Coast Manager, has
received for distribution among steam users two inter-
teresting pamphlets, entitled "High Pressure" and
" Facts." The former specially describes boilers of the
" W. S. C." construction, and the latter gives a history
of water tube boilers from the inception of the art of
steam boiler construction to the present time, indicating
the degree of commercial success attained by each.

Messrs. Charles C. Moore & Co. also report recent
equipment of thirty steam plants in this section with
Stratton Steam Separators and of more than forty plants
with Bundy Tank and Return Steam Traps, the latter be-
ing a comparatively new device of special economy for
returning condensed water direct to the boilers without
pumping. Satisfactory sales of Goubert Feed Water
Heaters, New York Safety Engines, Snow Steam Pumps
and Spencer Damper Regulators are also reported.

io4

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

POPULAR REFLECTIONS OF THE CONDITIONS AND

PROSPECTS OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

ON THE PACIFIC COAST.

twenty feet higher than the Russian River. The plant, it is esti-
mated, will generate from 2,000 to 5,000 horse-power, and it is
expected that with additional turbines and canals running out of
the initial dam at least 10,000 horse-power can be derived.

Enthusiastic citizens here are declaring that in a short time
Sonoma County and the entire State will be the scene of pros-
perous factories run by this new power so cheaply obtained from
the hills.— Santa Rosa, Cal., Democrat.

The transmission of electric power is no longer a speculative
experiment but a plain business proposition, that commends
itself to intelligent investors everywhere. — Santa Cruz (Cal.)
Surf.

While capitalists of the State are looking around for electric
power, we beg to call their attention to Merced Falls, in this
county. If the power there is harnessed up and properly utilized
it will produce handsome returns on the investment. — Merced,
Cal., Express.

The business boom in the electrical world continues and new
schemes for power transmission and other electrical enterprises
are being formed, while hustling promoters of other schemes a
little older are figuring on the cost of plans and trying to raise
capital. — San Francisco Call.

It is not easy to foresee all that this [electric transmission]
may mean for the near future, particularly here in the Salt River
valley. , If the water power which we have could be utilized for
generating electricity, there would be no end to the possibilities.
— Phcenix (Ariz.) Republican.

Matters in the [municipal] electric light department are still
mixed. When the incandescent plant was put in operation
things got in a tangle which it seems impossible to straighten
out. A number of stores and residences are furnished with
lights, but the profit accruing to the city has not as yet been
discovered. — Alameda (Cal.) Argus.

The work. of harnessing the vast water power of California,
most of which is now going to waste, has evidently begun in
good earnest. The American River plant at Folsom is already
furnishing power for Sacramento, twenty-three miles away.
* * * Similar projects are on foot in other sections, and each
one will probably prove a highly remunerative investment. — Los
Angeles Times.

It is suggested that if the National Republican Convention be
held in San Francisco next June, Sacramento might hold at that
time a flower carnival , or Electric Carnival, or similar celebra-
tion, for the purpose of attracting and entertaining the East-
erners. If Sacramento does anything at all, let her have next
year another Electric Carnival, for in that direction she can give
a pageant unique in its character and which no other city at
present can dupliaate. — Sacramento Bee.

It is practicable to pick up Nature's immense stores of power,
as represented by the innumerable mountain streams throughout
the land, and transport them to the centers of trade, commerce
and manufacturing, and convert them to the uses of mankind.
Instead of taking the manufacturing establishment to the power,
which is often in places difficult of access, the power will be car-
ried whither the manufacturer wills. He will build his factories
where they will be easy of access to transportation, and bring the
power of the mountain streams to them. And this is not an idle
dream — it is not a dream at all, but an established, practical
reality. — Nevada City (Cal.) Herald.

In California there is no Niagara to harness, but there is a
steady fall of water from the Sierras capable of furnishing more
power than will be needed for generations to come. A practical
beginning of utilizing these streams has already been made , and
it will be a misfortune for San Diego if it fails to become a com-
petitor for these future manufactories. The mountain streams
only a few miles distant can be made to furnish ample power at
moderate cost. The facilities for transportation by wrater render
this city a much more desirable place for manufacturing estab-
lishments than interior points. The subject is certainly one
worthy of careful consideration. — San Diego (Cal.) Union.

There is no limit to the possibilities that lie before manufac-
turers and others who depend upon the creation of some form of
force. Electricity is the coming motive power, but electricity
must be caused by some exciting agency and to-day the usual
-means is a steam engine which turns the armatures of dynamos
and so produces the current that is then used for lighting and
various purposes. But this depends upon coal, and coal is neither
cheap nor plentiful in California. Hence, our salvation is in the
means of utilizing our streams. * * Some of our local capital-
ists have recently examined a canyon near Healdsburg, which
they think will solve the problem for Santa Rosa. The canyon is

When power for the generation of electricity for transmission
is under consideration, Stanislaus County looms far above all
other sections of the State. The great irrigatfon dam at La
Grange affords advantages in this direction that are simply stu-
pendous. Light, heat and power could be furnished to Merced,
Modesto and Stockton on the plains, as well as the lesser towns,
and to Coulterville and other towns of the mountains. An elec-
tric railroad from Modesto to Coulterville would make this city
the base of supplies for the mining town and all adjacent country,
as well as give us all the traveling and transient business, a very
valuable consideration. The cost of constructing and equipping
such a road would not be excessive, and the enterprise would pay
its promoters and handsomely enhance the business of the town.
—Modesto (Cal.) Herald.

H. W. Gray, the contractor who built a portion of the ditches
of the Modesto and Turlock irrigation district, says: " There is
already going to waste power enough for the submerged dam on
the Tuolumne river to operate an electric railroad from there to
Stockton on the north and to Fresno on the south. That dam
was built by the Modesto Irrigation district. It is in the Tuo-
lumne river and about thirty miles from La Grange. It is 126
feet in height, and supplies 2100 cubic feet of water per second
for the district. The district will probably use not more than
1000 cubic feet per second. At the driest season of the year there
is 200 cubic feet of water per second. There is a dam already
built, with water flowing over it at a height of 126 feet, which
would furnish all the electric power needed to operate a railroad
from that point to Modesto, and then on either side to Stockton
or to this city. As it is now, the power of that mighty force of
water is going to waste. That dam is only one of many which
may be built for the purposes of irrigation, which may also be
used to generate electric power for railroads. The whole western
slope of the Sierra Nevada drains an almost incalculable amount
of water, which is gathered according to the watersheds into
creeks and rivers. There is the Merced River, which has fall
enough to supply enough power to operate an electric road to a
point on the Bay of San Francisco. The same is true of the
Fresno River and the San Joaquin, the King, the Tule and the
Kern Rivers. All those are great rivers with capacity of generat-
ing great power, which may be used for electric roads or for manu-
facturing plants " — San Francisco Chronicle.

California cannot be too prompt to make commercial use of
the power in her streams to provide it with electricity. The
first great experiment — on the American river at Folsom — is suc-
cessful. A hundred other schemes for putting traces and collars
upon the moving waters are in the air. From Lake, from San
Diego, from Kern, from Calerveras come reports of projects to
make the waters do the hard work for man. Use of water for
power for the electric road to be built to the Yosemite Valley is
entirely within possibility, and the visitor to the wonderland may
ride swiftly by the force of the very waterfalls that enchant his
vision at the end of the trip.

The Directors of the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley
Railway would not be wasting time by giving consideration to
the feasibility of the use of electricity as the motive power for its
trains, and to investigating how power may best be obtained from
the Stanislaus, the Tuolumne, the Merced, the King and the
Kern. The topography of the country through which the Valley
Railroad will run its way is peculiarly adapted for an electric
railway, and nowhere else in the world has nature placed the
power more accessible. One of the reasons for selecting the Nan-
tasket branch in Connecticut as the line for experiment is that
within its short limits are condensed most of the difficult prob-
lems which will have to be solved before electricity can be rec-
ognized as a successful substitute for steam. The grades are
steep and the curves sharp and frequent. The Valley Railroad
will run through a level valley, and will be free from either steep
grades or sharp curves.

The electric locomotive has but to be developed one degree
further to be ready for use on just such a railroad, and, in the
mean time, California should be preparing to receive the locomo-
tive. The union of the largest factory in the world for supplying
motive engines with an electrical company means more than
speculation for constructions for suburban roads. It means that
the great railroads are going to turn their attention to electricity.
The change from steam should come first where natural power
can best be applied. — San Francisco Examiner.

Oct., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

105

Reports of the Jffonth.

L1TIQ/ITI0N.

Spokane, Wash. — The Union Light and Power Company has
been defeated in its suit to enjoin the City of Spokane from inter-
fering with the construction and maintenance of its lines.

Seattle, Wash. — The City Council has passed an ordinance
requiring all electric wires put underground inside of ninety
days. All electric companies, together with many prominent
business men, have signed a petition to the Council, in which the
electric companies agree to use but one pole line on either side of
each street, with six poles to the block, and that all other poles
shall be cut down.

COMflVlNKdTION.

Fresno, Cal. — The Sunset Telephone and Telegraph Company
has completed and is now occupying a vitrified clay underground
conduit system covering that portion of the city bounded by
Fresno, Kern, I and N streets.

Sacramento, Cal. — The contract for the 12,000 feet of ferial
telephone cable required by the Capital Telephone and Telegraph
Company was secured by the John A. Roebling's Sons Company,
and the material has been delivered and is in use.

San Francisco, Cal. — R. B. Elder, Pacific Coast agent for the
Chloride Company, reports the sale of several storage battery
plants, among which is one of thirty-six cells of chloride battery
for operating the new Express Exchange for Sacramento.

TRANSMISSION.

Riverside, Cal. — The Board of Trustees has advertised for bids
for electric power purposes.

Redwood City, Cal. — Efforts are being made to operate the
new electric plant here by water power.

Kennedy, Nev. — The Schweitzer Electric Milling Company is
erecting machinery to work custom ores.

San Diego, Cal.— F. S. Hartwell has been appointed agent for
the Walker Manufacturing Company for San Diego county.

Visalia, Cal. — The Kaweah Irrigation and Power Company is
purchasing a complete outfit for excavating the proposed power
canal.

Bodie. Cal. — The Standard Consolidated Mining Company has
completed the big dam for its electric power station at Green
Creek.

Bakersfield, Cal. — Alfred Billing has filed a claim for 35,000
inches of water of Kern River, to be diverted at a point in Section
17, Township 27, Range 32.

Waneta, Wash.— The Kootenay (Ida.) Hydraulic Mining Com-
pany has altered its plan, and instead of furnishing water for
mining purposes, proposes to place an electric plant and furnish
electric power.

Woodland, Cal. — The Rumsey and Tancred colonies are con-
sidering the advisability of putting in an electric transmission
plant to furnish power for pumping water from Cache Creek to
be used for irrigating the Tancred colony and the surrounding
country.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Pacific Coast office of the West-
tinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company reports the sale
of the following apparatus during the month : 1 , 2% horse-
power 500-volt multipolar motor; 1 7% horse-power 500-volt
multipolar motor.

Flagstaff, Ariz. — Yuma capitalists will soon begin the erection
of a large smelting plant at Castle Dome for the reduction of the
lead and silver ores from the mines near that place. Electricity
for the works will be furnished by water power taken from the
great Yuma irrigating canal.

Salt Lake City, Utah.— R. M. Jones, Manager of the Big Cot-
tonwood Power Company, has returned from the East after hav-
ing ordered a complete transmission plant for the company. Mr.
Jones will now devote his time to the management of the com-
pany during period of installation.

Sonora, Cal.— It is reported that local capitalists, believed to
be the Sonora Electric Light Company, intend to build a dam
across the north fork of the Tuolumne river, near Duck Wall
Canyon, about five miles from Somersville, for the purpose of
developing additional electric power.

Victoria, B. C— F. S. Barnard, who has just returned from
London, says that he has succeeded in obtaining capital to the
extent of $500,000, for the purpose of developing the water power
of Seymour Creek, and thereby generating electricity for electric
lighting and electric railways in Vancouver, New Westminster
and vicinity.

Los Angeles. Cal. — The San Gabriel Power Company pro-
poses to take the entire flow of the San Gabriel river out of its
bed eight miles above the mouth of the Azuza Canyon, and by
conveying it through a tunnel to develop a fall of 400 feet.
This tunnel will be about 1000 feet long and is already half com-
pleted. The promoters are W. C. Kerckhoff, A. Haas and others

of this city. A recent survey of the proposed transmission line

for the Kern River and Los Angeles Electric Company shows
that its length is under 110 miles. Between the reservoir on Sal-
mon creek and Kern river, a distance of eight and a half miles,
there is a fall of about 5,100 feet, there being one waterfall of
2,000 feet. W. N. Myers has purchased a400-horse-power elec-
tric plant to furnish power to pump the wells in the oil fields.

San Francisco, Cal. — The Pacific Transmission Company has
been incorporated for the purpose of generating electric power
from the refuse coal at the Corral Hollow coal mines in Alameda
and San Joaquin counties, for transmission to the cities of Stock-
ton, San Jose and elsewhere. Eight hundred thousand dollars
have been invested in developing the mines, and it is stated that
the initial plant will generate 5,400 horse-power. Messrs. James
and John Treadwell and others, among whom are representatives

of the General Electric Company, are the incorporators. The

Merced Falls Electric Power and Manufacturing Company has
been incorporated by J. P. Flemming and others, with $1,000,000
capital. The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Com-
pany reports the sale of one 45 kw. two-phase and one 60 kw. sin-
gle phase plants.

Fresno, Cal. — The contract filed by the San Joaquin Electric
Company, with the County Recorder for the purchase of electrical
apparatus from the General Electric Company, describes techni-
cally the machinery and supplies called for, the cost being $113,-
500. About 400 miles of copper wire must be furnished, together
with 1000 incandescent lamps, 160 arc lamps, and the various
machinery heretofore described. The San Joaquin Company has
accepted the county franchise with the understanding that the
entire work is to be completed within one year. About 150 men
are at work on the dams and ditches of the company. These. are
now about completed, and the work of grading for the pipe line
and power house site is in progress. The poles for the thirty-five
mile transmission have been ordered, and work on the pole line
will be commenced by October 15th. The initial capacity will be
1040 kilowatts in three units ; 4100 feet of pipe line must be laid,
which will develop water power under 1410 foot head.

Grass Valley, Cal. — The contract for stringing the wire for
the Nevada County Electric Power Company has been awarded
to the Electrical Construction & Repair Company, of San Fran-
cisco. The basis of the contract is the stringing of seventy-two
miles of bare copper wire of various sizes over pole lines already
erected, and at the top of the pole a circuit of No. 8 iron wire,
which is broken and grounded at every other pole. The pole
line starts out from the power house at a grade of forty per cent.
About 30,000 feet of lumber is being received daily, and is being
placed in the flume of the Nevada County Electric Power Com-
pany. This flume will be 18,400 feet in length, and is now about
two-thirds finished, and will be entirely completed by the middle
of October. Only a few weeks more work will be required on the
dam, which is being constructed of heavy granite logs and con-
crete. A new road has been built to allow the hauling of dyna-
mos, water-wheels and lumber to the site of the power house, and
no delay is occurring in any branch of the work.

iLnmiN/moN.

Fort Jones, Cal.— It is -expected that an electric light plant
will be installed here.

Yuma, Ariz.— An electric light and pumping plant is soon to
be placed in the prison.

Long Beach, Cal.— The Long Beach Electric Light Company
will soon extend its service to San Pedro.

Phcsnix, Ariz.— A 250 light plant is being installed in the
insane asylum, together with a pumping outfit.

Santa Barbara, Cal.— Negotiations are nearly consummated
for a 1000-light generator for the town of Santa Maria.

Prescott, Ariz. — Arrangements are about completed for the
installation of another electric light plant of 2000-light capacity.

Santa Cruz, Cal.- C. Osborn has been appointed to succeed
C. E. Lilly as superintendent of the Electric Light and Power
Company.

Pasadena, Cal. — Bids and specifications have been received by
the Electric Light and Power Company for an additional 150-
horse-power boiler.

Benicia, Cal.— The old engine and dynamos of the Napa Elec-
tric Light Works have been moved to Benicia, where they will be
used to furnish light for that city.

Woodburn, Or. — Davis Brothers of Silverton are canvassing
this place -with the idea of securing sufficient business to warrant
the installation of an electric lighting plant.

io6

TH£ journal of blbctricity.

[Vol. I, No. 4.

Napa, Cal. — The electric lighting franchise recently secured
by L. A. Grothwell has been assigned to a new company known
as the Napa and St. Helena Electric Company.

Salinas, Cal. — The Salinas Gas and Water Company has ac-
cepted the proposition of the Common Council for seven addi-
tional street arc lights, at $7.50 each, for fifteen months, and will
place same immediately.

Grass Valley, Cal. — The North Star Mining Company has
installed an incandescent lighting plant, consisting of a 100-light
dyamo of the Electrical Engineering Company, operated from .a
10-horse-power Girard water wheel.

St. Helena, Cal — The General Electric Company will install
an electric lighting plant for the Napa and St. Helena Electric
Light and Power Company, and are now at work laying out a
complete system of wiring for the town.

Sonora, Cal.— Grant & Bannister are to install a 500-horse-
powerelectric light and power plant, to be completed by February
15, 1896. Wires will be run through Sonora, Columbia, James-
town and other towns for lighting purposes.

Wattsburg, Wash. — J. G. Stevens has secured a franchise to
erect an electric light plant, and will begin work at once. Power
will be furnished from Washington Mills temporarily, but event-
ually Mr. Stevens will take out a mill-race of his own.
- Tacoma, Wash. — The Board of Public Works intend to increase
the electric lighting plant by the addition of a new 125-horse-
power boiler, a 2000-light alternating generator and a 250-horse-
power engine, the generator and engine to be second-hand, if the
same can be obtained. The plant is now supplying 580 arcs and
over 3000 incandescents.

Anaconda, Mont. — The Anaconda Electric Light and Power
Company are building a new power house, which will be fitted
out with a new outfit of water wheels, dynamos, etc. Four new
Leffel turbine wheels and a Cascade wheel will be used, directly
connected to the dynamos. A Brush generator will furnish arc
lights, and a Westinghouse the incandescents. A storage battery
will be placed in Carroll.

San Leandro, Cal. — An ordinance stating the necessity of
putting in an electric light plant has been referred to the Ordi-
nance Committee, and as the price of such a plant would be too
great for the city funds, it has been proposed that bonds be is-
sued. A bid of $2,383.60 has been received from the Best Manu-
facturing Company for furnishing power for an electric light
plant, and for installing the electric plant the following bids :
California Electrical Works, $4,458.20; A. C. Rowlands, $7,183.

San Francisco, Cal. — It is reported that the recent Eastern
trip of J. B. Stetson, President of the North Pacific Coast Rail-
road and also of the Edison Light and Power Company, was in
connection with electric light matters. It is understood that Mr.
Stetson's object is to meet the threatened competition of the San
Francisco Gas Light Company by engaging in the gas business,
and Professor Stewart is authority for the statement that the
present plant of the gas light company, which cost $12,000,000,
can be duplicated for $3,000,000. It is rumored that the electric
company has under consideration the adoption of the professor's
ideas and intends to manufacture gas at rates lower than it has
ever been believed possible to make it. The Merchants' Asso-
ciation is advocating the lighting of Market street with arc lamps,
and the daily papers are urging the Park Commissioners to install
an electric plant for lighting Golden Gate Park. W. J. O'Con-
nor has relinquished the agency for the Sunbeam Incandescent
Lamp Company and now holds the Pacific Coast selling agency
of the Buckeye Lamp under the California Electrical Works.

TRdNSPORTdTION.

Pasadena, Cal. — T. S. C. Lowe has been granted a franchise
for an electric railway connecting with the Pasadena street car
system and the mountain railway at Altadena.

St. Anthony, Idaho. — Engineers are at work surveying for a
road to be built from this place to the nearest point on the Utah
& Northern, a distance of about twenty-seven miles.

San Diego, Cal.' — The General Electric Company has secured
the contract for equipping the San Diego Cable Company's road
with electricity. The contract includes dynamos, cars, trolleys
and all other appliances.

Redlands, Cal.— E. G. Judson, one of the committee of the
proposed electric street railway, has figured the cost of equipment
at about $8000 per mile. The length is five to six and a half
miles, the cost being $40,000 to $65,000.

San Jose Cal.— Messrs. L. M. Hale and J. P. Pfetch have sub-
mitted a proposition to the Board of Trade to build a first-class
road between San Jose and Saratoga and Congress Springs. A
committee of the Board of Trade endorses the proposition, and
urges that the property owners, in vicinity of the proposed road,
subscribe $50,000, but no money will be paid until the road is in
satisfactory operation.

Haywards, Cal.— Surveys have been finished on the San Lean-
dro and Hay wards branch of the proposed electric - road from
Oakland to Livermore. Surveyors are also at work on other
portions of the road, but no route has been accepted.

Phcenix, Ariz. — Lincoln Parlor has been granted a fifty-year
franchise for a standard gauge railroad to be operated by horse,
electric or steam power on Van Buren street and Woodland ave-
nue, from the center of Seventh avenue westward to the city
limit.

Santa Barbara, Cal. — The Santa Barbara Consolidated Elec-
tric Bailway Company is now at work on its road to extend from
State street along Haley street to the County Hospital, and ex-
pects to extend the road through the principal streets in the near
future.

Seattle, Wash. — A new power-house is being built for the
Seattle Consolidated Street Railway Company, new cars have been
ordered, and rails for Second street were shipped from Chicago.
The company will spend over $100,000. The Seattle and Ta-
coma Electric Railway scheme is being revived.

Salt Lake, Utah. — O. B. Hardy and W. J. Moorhead have ap-
plied for a franchise to build an electric plant for furnishing light
and heat, and maintaining and operating electric railroads in the
West Mountain mining district. They agree to light the jail at
Bingham, during the life of the franchise, free of cost to Salt Lake
County.

Oakland, Cal. — The General Electric Company have received
the contract to equip the Piedmont division of the Mountain View
& Piedmont Railroad Company with electricity. Seven new cars
will be run through from Piedmont to Seventh and Washington
street. The cable track to Piedmont will be kept in repair, and
the cable will probably be operated Sunday afternoons, when it
is necessary to carry more passengers than the electric cars will

accommodate. The Haywards Electric Railway Company ran

special trains from thi=5 city to Haywards during the recent bicy-
cle road races. These trains had the right of way, and, as the
track runs along the road used as the race course, hundreds of
people took advantage of the opportunity offered to keep pace
with the racers. The Oakland Street Railway Company sub-
mits applicants for positions to a rigid written examination.

San Francisco, Cal. — The San Francisco and San Mateo
Electric Railway Company has applied for a franchise to extend
its Park branch from the present terminus at Stanyan and Waller
streets, along Stanyan to Sullivan , to J, to Ninth avenue, and thence

through the old San Miguel Rancho to Ingleside. C. Stein, the

tie-plate expert of the Q. & C. Co., of Chicago, who was at the Pal-
ace Hotel, is superintending the placing of several millions of tie-
plates on various electric and steam roads throughout the Coast,
among which are the Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railway
Company, the Southern Pacific, the San Francisco and San Joa-
quin Valley, and the San Francisco and North Pacific Railway

Company. Mr. Stein is now in Mexico. The Abner Doble

Company are installing fifteen double 25-horse-power Walker
equipments on the 38-foot combination cars of the Sutro Railroad
Company, the installation aggregating 1500 horse-power. These
cars are each guaranteed to haul a 28-foot trailer up a 11 per cent,
grade at five miles per hour, when loaded with 180 passengers on
the car and 150 passengers on the trailer. The Westinghouse E.
& M. Co. has sold 48 horse-power in small motors to the Sutro
Railroad Co.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The Main Street Railway has been pur-
chased .by a San Francisco syndicate, which proposes to equip the
entire road with electricity. The Los Angeles Traction Com-
pany is extending the terminus of its road to University station,
as follows: From Freeman street, the present terminus, along
Hoover street, Forrester avenue and Vermont avenue to the
University station. Other extensions are projected in the near

future. The Los Angeles Electric Railway Company has sold

its bonds, and is now ready to commence work on the Altadena

extension. Prof. Lowe has applied for a franchise to operate

an electric railroad from the corner of Raymond and California

streets to Broadway. The road will be built without delay. R.

F. Clark and associates have been granted an electric railway
franchise over various streets commencing with the intersection
of Main, Spring and Temple streets, and terminating at the inter-
section of Mission Road and the city limits. Another franchise
has been granted to T. C. Paxton for an electric road to com-
mence at the intersection of Hill and Eighth streets, running
thence along Hill to Sixteenth, to Figueros, to Sixteenth, to
Georgia Bell street.— — By January 1st, 1896, there will be an
electric street car line starting from the corner of Fourth and
Spring streets to run through Hollenbeck Park. — ■ The Pasadena
and Pacific Electric Railway Company has awarded the contract
for the trolley and feeder circuits for its line from this city to
Santa Monica to the John A. Roebling's Sons Company. The
length of the road is twenty-two miles.

R. M. WOOD CO. PRINT, 314-316 BATTERY ST „ S. ?.

THE JOUHNfllt OF EIiECTMCITY.

Vol. I.

NOVEMBER, 1895.

No. 5.

^Ko JYovada @ounty "power transmission.

Figure 1. — On the Slide.

BAT the installa-
tion of electric
power transmis-
sion plants in the
mountainous min-
ing regions of the
Pacific Coast is
attended with
many unforseen
difficulties other
than electrical, is
shown in the inter-
esting plant now
being erected in
California by John
Martin under con-
tract for the Ne-

vada County Electric Power Company. So typical is
this undertaking of electric installations in mountainous
countries, that a description of the means resorted to for
handling the heavy machinery will be both interesting
and instructive.

The plant under consideration is to be driven by water
power, mainly derived from the south fork of the Yuba
River, at a point 18,400 feet above the site of the power
house. At this point a cribbed log dam, twenty-six feet
high and seventy-eight feet wide, illustrated in Figure 4,
has been erected. Inasmuch as the Yuba Elver at this
point constitutes a torrential stream during the winter
season, the utmost care was necessitated in the erection
of a log dam to withstand the floods of each winter;
accordingly a site walled in by solid granite was selected
for the dam and the diverting flume shown in Figure 3
was built to carry off the water from the natural bed of
the river, in order that each'log might be bolted to bed-
rock and to each other. From the completed dam is run
the flume shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5. This is five by
six feet in size and has a capacity of 5,950 miners' inches.
One and one-quarter million feet of pine lumber was
used in its construction, which consumed the labor of
110 men for four months. Continuing, as the flume does,
mainly along the granite bluffs confining the river, its
construction was a task of great magnitude, involving
the exercise of much engineering skill and risk of life
on the pai't of the workingmen. The construction of
the dam and flume was done under the supervision of

Mr. Alf. Tregidgo, who from the outset has been fore-
most in the undertaking.

The flume terminates immediately above the power
house on an exceedingly steep incline known as " The
Slide," which, together with the power-house site, is
illustrated in Figure 2, giving the water a head of 206
feet. From the penstock of the flume steel-riveted
pipes, 320 feet in length, are to be carried down, the first
120 feet being of forty-eight-inch pipe, and the second
and third 100 feet being forty-four and forty-two-inch
pipe respectively. The pipe line terminates in the large
steel receiver (Figure 8), which will supply water to the
two sets of Pelton wheels operating the generators.
This receiver is nineteen feet in length and forty-eight
inches in diameter, weighs approximately four tons, and

Figure 2. — The Slide and Power-House Site.

constitutes the largest though not the heaviest piece of
apparatus used.

As indicated, the power is derived from two sets of
Pelton water wheels, each of which consists of two,
thirty-four and one-half-inch Pelton wheels, direct con-

Copyrighted 1895, by Geo. P. Low. All Rights Reserved.

io8

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

nected on the same shaft and each of which is driven
by two three-inch jets. Eegulation is to be effected by
an improved type of the Pelton differential cut-off
governor.

Direct coupled to each of these water wheels is a
Stanley 500 horse-power, inductor type, two-phase gen-
erator, each of which is guaranteed under contract to
have a commercial efficiency of 94.6 per cent., and an
electrical efficiency of 98 per cent. The foundations of
the power house are of the solid bed-rock granite, upon
which the generator foundations are placed. These foun-
dations consist of eighteen inches of concrete upon the

on two cross-arms, each pole being gained for two addi-
tional cross-arms. Thirty-feet round peeled poles are
used, and throughout the entire line a sixty-foot clear-
ance has been cut for the pole line through the timber
and brush. The line loss is to be approximately 5 per
cent., and the plant will be operated at 16,000 alterna-
tions per minute. Triple petticoat top-grooved por-
celain insulators, five inches across the bell and manu-
factured by F. M. Locke of Victor, New York, are being
used throughout.

The machinery for the plant was transported by rail
to Nevada City, Cal., which is a little less than five miles

.from the power house, and from

! the outset difficulties of an unusual
I character were encountered. The
scene of operations is in the midst
of that portion of California which
was the center of hydraulic min-
ing activity until the anti-debris
agitation put a stop to that mode
of mining. The roads are, or
rather were at the time when the
transportation of the machinery

bed rock through which were ruu
thirteen three-quarter-inch iron bolts
that had previously been sulphur-
cemented into holes that had been
drilled into the granite to a depth of
eighteen inches. Bolted by this means
to the concrete are three timbers
dressed down to eight by ten inches
that have previously been tarred and
wrapped with two layers of P. & B.
roofing paper and finally imbedded
in cement. The holding-down bolts
for the bed plates of the generators
are lag screws, which in turn are sulphur-cemented into
the wood timbers, thereby attaining the highest possible
insulation resistance to earth. The generators will be
provided with two Crocker- Wheeler multipolar exciters,
each having a rating of five kilowatts. These are to be
belt-driven by independent Pelton wheels, and either
will be of ample capacity to excite both generators.

No step-up transformers are to be used, as the gen-
erators will deliver two-phase current to the line at 5500
volts. The pole line is very close to eight miles in
length and carries eight No. 3B.&S. bare copper wires

Figures 3, 4 and 5.—
and a portion of
Company.

■The Site of the Dam and Diverting Flume, the Completed Dam
the Flume Line, respectively, of the Nevada County Fleetric Power

was commenced, in practically the same condition as
existed during the early mining days. They were
exceedingly bad thoroughfares laid out over the shortest
routes, almost regardless of grades. Whole mountain
sides had been washed away by the hydraulic miners,
and the rush and anxiety attendant upon the search for
the precious metal forestalled all attempts at road-
building, with the result that the highways were impas-
sable for heavy machinery. The wagon road, such as it
was, did not reach within nearly two miles of the site
of the power house, which compelled the building of a

Nov., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

109

road over an exceedingly mountainous country, in
addition to which the contractor found it necessary to
partially reconstruct the old wagon road to the extent
of clearing it of rocks and boulders, and widening it
sufficiently to admit the passage of heavy machinery.
This was drawn' to the top of the slide by means of
teams varying from six to twelve horses each, according
to load. Each of the Stanley generators consists of six
pieces weighing approximately five tons each, the
heaviest piece being the inductor, which weighs 11,200
pounds, and which proved to be the most difficult piece
to transport. A special truck
was constructed for it, and de-
spite the unusual precautions
taken a break-down occurred
(Figure 6), and although the
blockade thus occurring could
be cleared out within a day
with the appliances at hand,
the urgencies for prevent-
ing delay in transporting
other machinery were so great
that a new road was built
around the break-down. The
character of the country
through which this road was

site appears upon the river bank. In this illustration
photography fails to bring out much more than a sug-
gestion of the steepness of the slide. "Within a hori-
zontal distance of probably one-half a mile the mountain
rises to an elevation of about 1700 feet above the river
level. The first 400-feet drop from the top may be
reached by wagon road. Continuing downward, the
next 400 feet is an angle of twenty-five degrees, and the
next 600 feet is an angle of thirty-two degrees. Then
follows about eighty feet of thirty-five degree declivity,
and finally a further drop of about 220 feet is made to

the power-house site at an
angle of thirty-nine de-
grees, down which not
only all machinery for the
plaut has been lowered,
but upon which the pipe
line has to be laid and
securely anchored.

The means by which
the machinery has been
lowered down the slide are
those familiarly applied in
house moving, and which
is termed "snubbing."
Each piece of machinery is

Figdees 6, 7 and 8.— Illustrating some difficulties encountered in the installation of

the Nevada County Electric Power Company.

Transmission Plant

constructed is clearly shown in the illustration and the
growth of underbrush, cactus and small pine and scrub
oak trees was so dense as to render road building a
serious task. Many of the grades on this improvised
highway were so steep as to necessitate lowering the
trucks down by means of block and tackle, yet despite
this the machinery reached its destination without hav-
ing suffered the slightest injury.

The greatest obstacles to be surmouted were those
encountered in lowering the machinery down the moun-
tain side, shown in Figure 2, in which the power-house

mounted singly upon a heavy log sled made in the most
substantial manner, and secured thereto by means of
chains, ropes or in such other manner as will prevent
slipping. Generally three 14-inch manilla ropes are then
secured to the sled and machinery, each such rope being
wrapped several times around a tree trunk, and a man
being stationed at each of the three trees to control the
ropes. The load is then lowered gradually by slacking
the ropes or " snubbing " them as in house moving.

The illustrations given convey a suggestion of the
methods used in overcoming the barriers presented in

no

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

this interesting installation, and it is worthy of note
that despite the many and unforeseen difficulties en-
countered the work of installation has progressed with-
out mishap or delay, and the plant will without doubt
be in operation by December 10th.

The mechanical features of the work have been placed
under the direction of Mr. T. J. Benny, and the entire
electrical equipment has been erected for Mr. Martin
through the electrical engineership of Mr. E. E. Stark,

pneumatics.

AN ECONOMICAL AIR PLANT NOW BEING INSTALLED
AT THE NORTH STAR MINE.

By Edward A. Rix, P. E.

The North Star Mining Company, of Grass Valley,
Nevada County, California, has made a long stride ahead
in the direction of economical power service, by installing

Figoke 1. — The North Star Air Transmissi
in the world, as it appea

of the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company, whose
apparatus is being used throughout.

The plant now being erected constitutes the initial in-
stallation, and it will therefore be enlarged as necessary
to meet future demands. Probably seventy-five per cent.
of the capacity of the plant will be absorbed in the de-
livery of power to the mining industries of the vicinity,
and already sufficient business has been contracted for to
more than defray all fixed charges.

on Plant. The largest tangential Water Wheel
ed before being housed in.

upon their property a very complete system for the
transmission and use of compressed air.

It has been dawning upon the minds of power users
that compressed air, which heretofore has been consid-
ered a luxury, can be bent to mine use quite economically
and most conveniently. Much energy has been expended
of late, also, by the advocates of compressed air, in dis-
seminating information regarding the economy of air
when it is used under proper conditions. Heretofore in
California, with perhaps one exception, air has been*used

Nov., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

in

cold in the engines or motors into which it has been intro-
duced. Owing to the sudden and very considerable drop
of temperature which occurs on the expansion of air in
a motor cylinder, it is impossible to use it cold in engines
of the expansion type, for it would take but a few mo-
ments to freeze up the lubricants and discontinue the
operation of the" machine. A gentle amount of heat,
however, applied to the air before it is used in the motor,
not only increases its volume to a marked extent — for
instance, somewhat over forty per cent, upon heating to
350 degrees — but it supplies to the air a sufficient
quantity of heat, so that when it is expanded in the mo-
tor cylinder, its exhaust temperature offers no inconve-
nience to proper working conditions. Air heated to this
temperature can be expanded from its initial pressure
down to the atmospheric pressure without any inconven-
ience whatever, and with most economic results.

speed of the machine is 440 feet, which, while not quite
as economical as one somewhat lower, was dictated by
the conditions under which the water-wheel operated.

The air enters the initial cylinder at the temperature
of the power room, which is approximately 62 degrees,
and is therein compressed to 25,pounds to the square
inch gauge pressure. It leaves the cylinder at a tempe-
rature of 200°F., and passes through an inter-cooler of
about 1000 running feet of one-inch copper tubes placed
directly beneath the water wheel, and which receives
from the wheel a continual shower of water at a temper-
ature of about 58 degrees. This cools the air to such an
extent that it is delivered to the high-pressure cylinders
at a temperature of 60 degrees. In these cylinders the
air is compressed to 90 pounds, and is delivered from the
cylinders at a temperature of 204 degrees into six-inch
mains which lead to the mine. Indicator cards taken

Figure 2.— The North Star Air Transmission Plant. A general view of the Rix Duplex Air Compressors and Pelton Water

Wheel, from a photograph taken during Installation.

Realizing all this, after an extended investigation upon
the subject, the North Star Mining Company, haying a
splendid water-power at its disposition, decided to install
a very economical compressed air plant. A. De Wint
Foote, M. Am. Soc. C. E., was placed in charge of the
operations, and, after receiving bids from firms both in
California and the East, the contract was placed with
the Fulton Engineering and Ship-building Works, of San
Francisco, for the compressed air plant, which concern
placed the matter in the hands of the writer for execu-
tion. All the machinery was designed under his di-
rection.

As shown by the half-tones accompanying this article,
the compressors consist of duplex tandem compound ma-
chines. The initial cylinders are eighteen inches in
diameter, and the high-pressure cylinders are ten inches
in diameter by twenty-four inch stroke. The piston

from the cylinders show that the cylinders are doing
equal work,' and at 110 revolutions they work smoothly
and perfectly.

Notwithstanding the fact that some builders claim
that clearance has no detrimental effect upon the econ-
omy of their air compressors, in the Rix compressors the
clearance is practically eliminated, being not to exceed
l-32d of an inch at each end of the stroke. The cards
taken from these cylinders are perfectly square cornered.

The water-jacket system is quite unique, it being a du-
plex system — that is, there is an independent circulation
for each end of the cylinder, the water passing longi-
tudinally back and forth on the side of the cylinder and
from the center in two independent streams, cooling the
heads at the same time. The efficacy of this water
jacket will be noted in the temperatures above given.
The efficacy of the combined water jackets and inter-

112

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

cooler will be noted from the fact that in the single-stage
machine, and at a pressure of 90 pounds, the final
temperature of the air, if not cooled during compression,
would be 459°F. In this machine the combined tempera-
tares of delivery in the two cylinders is 404 degrees, the
difference between these temperatures showing a very
substantial gain in work, which otherwise would have
to be lost.

In testing for volumetric efficiency, the receivers were
carefully measured a number of times and found to con-
tain 291 cubic feet. These were filled repeatedly, and
the number of revolutions of the machine accurately
counted each time. All of these experiments were con-
ducted after the machine had been in operation for a
sufficient length of time to reach its maximum temper-
ature.

The barometer at the power house is 27.35 inches, cor-
responding to an elevation of about 2400 feet. This
gives an atmospheric pressure of 13.32 pounds per square
inch. At 90 pounds gauge pressure the ratio of com-
pression would be 7.7, and the receiver containing 291
cubic feet represents 2240 cubic feet capacity of free air.
The average of a great many experiments showed that
the compressor took 102J revolutions to fill the receiver

ure is very valuable in case of repairs or accident to the
valves, any one of which may be removed and repaired,
and replaced without stopping the machine.

To drive this compressor there has been placed upon
the main shaft a Pelton water wheel, eighteen feet in
diameter, which is believed to be the largest tangential
water wheel ever made. This wheel is of peculiar con-
struction, and was designed by Edward S. Cobb, M. E.,
of San Francisco. The head of water being 775 feet,
and it being considered advisable to do away with all
gearing, belting or ropes, it became quite a question to
determine how to construct this wheel. In the first
place, the piston speed of the compressor was placed as
high as possible, 440 feet being considered about the
limit that should be practically employed. This gave
110 revolutions for the compressor shaft. The most
economical rim speed of the wheel, which is fifty per
cent, of the spouting velocity, has placed the wheel at
18 feet diameter. Being operated at a peripheral speed
of 6210 feet per minute, fears for its safety made the
use of cast iron inadvisable, and even cast steel did not
offer the necessary advantages. Mr. Cobb suggested the
construction which is shown in the accompanying engrav-
ings, and the results have fully justified his calculations.

Figure 3.- — The North Star Air Transmission Plant. The Rix Compound Pneumatic Reheater.

from 25 pounds, which is the pressure of the initial cyl-
inder, to 90 pounds. At this pressure of 25 pounds
gauge, there is 830 cubic feet of free air in the receiver.
The difference between these two capacities, or 1410
cubic feet, would represent the amount of air which was
forced into the receiver at the revolutions stated. Inas-
much as the temperature of the receiver is somewhat
higher than the temperature of the inlet air, there should
be a deduction made from this sum corresponding to that
temperature of about 2%, making the corrected amount
delivered to the receiver 1382 cubic feet.

The theoretical capacity of the compressor, deduct-
ing the piston rods, and at 102J revolutions, is 1429
cubic feet of free air per minute. The ratio between 1382
cubic feet, actually delivered, and 1429 cubic feet, theo-
retical capacity, is 96.6%, which represents the actual
volumetric efficiency of the machine at the present writ-
ing. This, of course, will vary proportionately with the
ratios of the absolute temperatures of the inlet air, de-
pending upon the season of the year.

One peculiarity about the Rix compressor, as may be
noted from the drawing, is the fact that the compressor
is so arranged that any cylinder may be disconnected, or
any end of any cylinder may be disconnected without in-
terfering with the operation of the machine. This feat-

It will be noticed that there is a marked difference be-
tween the construction of this wheel and the ordinary
bicycle wheel which it seems to suggest. In the bicycle
wheel all spokes are in tension and are tangent to a
circle concentric with the hub of the wheel, whereas in
this wheel there are radial rods in tension to support
the rim, and Mr. Cobb has introduced driving trusses to
transmit torsional stress from rim to hub, all as shown
in the outline view of wheel, Figure 4. The rim is of
wrought iron, riveted up in convenient cross- sections,
and the dimensions of the wheel are as follows :

Diameter over all 18 ft.

Width of face 8 in.

Diameter of shaft -. . . 10 "

Length of hub, bore 20 "

Length of hub over all 29 "

Center to center of spokes laterally at the hub ... 24 "

Center to center of truss rods at the hub 30 "

Diameter of radial spokes 1J£ "

Diameter of truss rods 2 "

Weight of rim 6,800 lbs.

AVeight of spokes 1,500 "

Weight of hub 2,800 "

Weight of ninety-six Pelton buckets 672 "

Total weight of wheel 11,772 lbs.

The buckets are of bronze, being eight inches wide,,
and the cover being two and one-half inches deep. They

Nov., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

113

add eight inches to the diameter of the wheel, and after
being milled are riveted upon the outer rim. In actual
practice the wheel is splendidly balanced and runs per-
fectly true and is an entirely satisfactory method of con-
struction. Running at its standard speed with the
connecting rods off the wrist pins and suddenly shutting
the water off, it will continue to run fourteen and one-
half minutes before it comes to rest, showing a correct
balance. Water is supplied to the wheel through about
8000 feet of twenty-inch riveted steel pipe, built by the
Eisdon Iron and Locomotive Works.

The wheel is governed by automatic devices, which
keep it at a standard speed and stop it and start it
according as the air pressure increases or falls below the
standard pressure. The compressed air, after leaving
the compressors, is conducted to the mine and delivered
to the reservoirs above mentioned, from which it is
taken into the Eix pneumatic reheater, a cut of which
is shown herewith. It is here heated to 350 degrees
Fah., and delivered to
the initial cylinders of
a compound direct-act-
ing pneumatic hoist.
In this cylinder the air
is cut off at one-half
and exhausted back to
the compound com-
partment of the re-
heater, where this air,
which is about twenty-
five pounds pressure, is
again heated to 350
degrees. From here it
is conducted to the
compound cylinder of
the pneumatic hoist
and expanded to atmos-
phere, at a temperature
of about 160 degrees,
the exhaust flume con-
necting with the dry
room for the men.

The air is also con-
ducted from the re-
heater to operate a
Dow compound sinking
pump, having a ca-
pacity of 600 gallons
per minute, and still
further down the mine
for operating rock
drills.

The pneumatic hoist is not yet in operation, and will
be the subject of a further description when it is com-
pleted. If the anticipations of the designers of this
plant are realized, the pneumatic hoist will develop in
its cylinders the indicated horse-power of the compres-
sors at least, and possibly will exceed it. The entire
economy of the system should exceed eighty per cent.

This plant is receiving a great deal of attention from
the mine owners of the Pacific Coast who anticipate
putting in power plants, and its successful operation will
determine the installment of others of a similar kind.
Nothing is being spared to make the North Star install-
ation complete in every respect.

We would suggest that there is necessity for a change
in the sub-title of our western contemporary, the " Pacific
Electrician," which states that it is " the only electrical
paper on the Pacific Coast." This is not accurate. Messrs.
Perrine and Low's new paper, the " Journal of Elec-
tricity," is published in San Francisco and shows great
signs of promise. — The Electrical Eeview, New York.

^ijdrauUos.

'CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

PRINCIPLES.

Hoskixs.

Figuke 4.— Outline Plan of the Pelton Water Wieel in use in the Air
Transmission of the North Star Mine.

All who are interested in hydraulic machinery will
read the essay published by Mr. John Eichards on the
construction and operation of centrifugal pumps with
profit, for the experience of Mr. Eichards, as a mechan-
ical engineer and designer of pumping machinerj^ en-
ables him to give valuable information regarding the
development and present condition of centrifugal pump
construction, especially on the Pacific Coast. The work
embraces two main points — a discussion of constructive
features, and a historical sketch. An appendix contains
brief discussions, by the author and others, of some in-
tei"esting questions of theory and practice. No system-
atic discussion is given of the scientific principles un-
derlying the design and
operation of centrifugal
pumps. In fact, it is
stated at the outset that
these pumps " defy the
mathematician," and it
is evidently the author's
belief that theory is of
little value in their de-
sign.

Under " constructive
features " the following
are the main points dis-
cussed: Size of impeller;
form and dimensions of
pump chambers ; forms
of impeller and of
vanes; balancing of im-
peller against water
pressure and against
the weight of shafting
and machinery ; the
question of double or
single inlets ; and the
special requirements
for dredging pumps.
The question of attain-
able efficiencies is also
touched upon, and the
opinion expressed that
for large pumps and for
heads not exceeding
twenty feet an efficiency
of seventy per cent, should be realized.

After an instructive historical review of the centrifu-
gal pump, it is pointed out, regarding its modern history,
that the most noteworthy development is in the direction
of high lifts. It is stated that these pumps have been
successfully operated in California against heads as
great as 160 feet. This fact is in striking contrast with
the statements frequently found in works on hydraulics
to the effect that the usefulness of centrifugal pumps is
confined to low lifts.

It is not easy to understand why the theory of cen-
trifugal pumps should present greater difficulties than
that of reaction turbines. The hydraulic principles in-
volved are identical in two cases, although, as our au-
thor says, the description of a centrifugal pump as an
" inverted turbine " is quite inaccurate. It may be of
interest to give here a brief statement of the main prin-
ciples involved, and a comparison of the two classes of
machines.

By " reaction " turbine is here meant one which oper-
ates with passages completely filled with water. The

ii4

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

term does not accurately describe the operation of such
a turbine, but no better name seems to have been sug-
gested. The main conditions to be observed for the effi-
cient working of such a motor are : (1) The water should
enter the wheel without shock ; (2) the flow through the
wheel should take place without sudden change of ve-
locity ; and (3) the absolute velocity of discharge from
the wheel should be as small as possible. To satisfy
these conditions, the direction of wheel-vanes at entrance
and exit points, and the speed of rotation, must be prop-
erly adjusted to each other. As a general rule, it may
be said that water should enter the wheel with an abso-
lute velocity directed nearly tangentially forward, and
should leave the wheel with a relative velocity directed
nearly tangentially backward. This relalive velocity,
compounded with the tangential velocity of the wheel at
the point of outflow, should give as small a resultant as
possible.

During the gradual deflection of the water in the
wheel passages, energy is transmitted from the water to
the wheel. What percentage of the energy lost by the
water is thus utilized, and what percentage is carried
off by the outflowing water, in the case of any given
turbine working with a given head of water, depend upon
the speed of rotation. If the speed is gradually in-
creased, beginning at zero, the percentage of energy
given to the wheel increases up to a certain maximum
value, and then decreases ; and for some values of the
speed of rotation it becomes zero. If the speed is still
further increased, the energy transferred to the wheel
becomes negative, or, in other words, the water receives
energy from the ivheel. Now, if in this latter case the de-
sign of the wheel is such that the energy lost by dissipa-
tion into heat by friction, impact, etc., is not too great,
the wheel will operate as a pump, aiding the flow.
Thus, a centrifugal pump is not an " inverted " turbine,
but rather a turbine running at too high a speed to oper-
ate as a motor.

In estimating the flow through a turbine and the en-
ergy taken from (or given to) the water for a given head
and velocity of motion, the only principles needed are
" Bernoulli's Theorem," giving the relation between
velocity of flow, pressure and height, at all points of a
stream in a condition of steady flow in fixed passages,
and the analogous theorem for flow through rotating pas-
sages. These theorems need not be given here, but it is
to be remarked that they apply equally whether the tur-
bine operates as a pump or as a motor, and the problems
of design should be as readily solvable in one case as in
the other.

It is a well-known principle that, for a given turbine
motor of the reaction type, the speed for highest effi-
ciency varies as the square root of the head. Further,
if the head changes, and the velocity of rotation changes
as the square root of the head, the velocity of -flow
through the wheel (and therefore the quantity of water
discharged) will vary in the same ratio as the speed of
rotation. This is, perhaps, the most serious disadvan-
tage of reaction motors. If the design is made for a cer-
tain fall and discharge, the wheel cannot yield its highest
efficiency for a different fall, unless the supply of water
changes correspondingly, and it cannot give its highest
efficiency for a changed supply of water, unless the fall
is correspondingly changed.

The same principle would seem to hold for turbine
pumps. If a pump is designed so as to give a high effi-
ciency when working at its best speed against a given
head, any change in the head will cause a decrease of
efficiency, unless the speed of rotation is changed in the
ratio of the square root of the head, and if this is done,
the discharge will vary in the same ratio. Thus, sup-
pose a pump working against a head of 36 feet has its

highest efficiency when making 300 revolutions per min-
ute, if the head is decreased to 25 feet, the speed for
best efficienc}7 should decrease to 250 revolutions per
miuute, and the discharge would be only five-sixths
as great as before. The given pump could not,
therefore, raise as much water against a head of 25 feet
as against 36 feet without a decreased efficiency. It is
doubtful whether this principle is clearly understood by
manufacturers.

The influence of the form of the impellus vanes upon
the efficiency is one of the questions discussed in Mr.
Eichards' essay. The author seems to regard this as of
minor importance, especially with low lifts. Theory in-
dicates as desirable a curve of such form as to gradually
deflect the water until its direction of flow near the out-
let of the wheel becomes nearly tangential and opposite
to the motion of the wheel. The object of this is to make
the absolute velocity of exit as small as possible. This ab-
solute velocity necessarily has a forward tangential com-
ponent of considerable magnitude because of the rotation
of the wheel, and this should be neutralized as com-
pletely as possible. The form of vanes is, doubtless, of
less practical importance with low lifts than with high,
because a much lower wheel velocity is needed to give
the required presssure in the discharge chamber. Effi-
ciency is often made a less important consideration than
capacity.

The existence of a high velocity of outflow from the
impeller passages would be of little detriment to the effi-
ciency if it were possible to produce a sufficiently grad-
ual transition from this velocity to that in the discharge
pipe. This may doubtless be partly accomplished by the
gradual enlargement of the passage leading from the
impeller chamber to the discharge chamber. This feat-
ure is used in the design of Schabaver, of which an ac-
count is given in the appendix to Mr. Eichards' book,
and is said by the author to have been also devised by
Mr. Gl. W. Price, of San Francisco. According to the
description given, the method of Schabaver is to make
the discharge chamber "a narrow orifice extending around
the whole circumference of the casing," and gradually
widening outwards, " so that the water arrives without
shock in a spiral collector surrounding the pump and
leading into the discharge pipe." This is identical in
principal with Boyden's " diffuser," used for a like pur-
pose with turbine motors. Francis, in his experiments
with the Fremont turbine, found that the use of a dif-
fuser gave an increase of 3 per cent, in the efficiency.
(Lowell, Hydraulic Experiments, page 5.) Experiments
seem to be wanting to show the value of this construc-
tion in the case of pumps.

It is probable that the efficiency suffers much greater
diminution by frictional losses at high speeds than at low.
This matter of frictional losses and other practical objec-
tions to extreme high speeds would seem to be the limit-
iting condition for the working of pumps against high
heads, since high rotational velocity is necessary to pro-
duce high pressure in the discharge chamber. It is
doubtful whether this difficulty can be completely over-
come except by compounding.

The plan of compounding two or more pumps in series
has been employed with apparently complete success.
From a theoretical stand-point, the compound pump seems
to furnish a complete solution of the problem of efficient
working against high heads. If two exactly similar
pumps are used, each yielding a certain efficiency when
working alone at a given velocity against a certain head,
and if the discharge pipe of one is made the inlet pipe
of the other, the two ought to work against a double
head with undiminished efficiency ; the best speed of ro-
tation and quantity of discharge being the same as for
each pump working alone against the original head.

Nov., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

IJ5

The frictional loss of efficiency should be the same for
the compound pump as for the single one working at the
same speed and discharging the same quantity of water.
Each pump, in fact, does the same quantity of work,
whether acting alone or compounded with the other ;
the sole difference in the conditions of the two being
that the pressure in every part of one is greater by a
constant amount than that in the corresponding part of
the other. There is no apparent reason why, by com-
pounding any required number of pumps iu the same
way, water cannot be raised to great heights as efficiently
as to moderate oues. The question of high lifts thus be-
comes one of economy of construction and maintenance
rather than one of possible successful working. So far
as first cost is concerned, Mr. Richards expresses the
opinion that it is much less for a compound pump, such
as he illustrates on page 59, than for piston pumps, to do
the same work.

The matter of the balancing of impellers is of much
interest, both theoretical and practical. The " hydrau-
lic step," by which the pressure of water in rapid rota-
tion is made to balance the weight of shafting or other
loads, was invented by Professor F. G. Hesse, and is the
subject of Bulletin No. 2 of the Department of Mechan-
ical Engiueeriug of the University of California. Space
is wanting for a description of this interesting device or
an account of its theory.

On the whole, the impression given by a careful
reading of Mr. Richards' book is that designers in Amer-
ica, and especially on the Pacific Coast, have attained a
high degree of success in the adaptation of turbine
pumps to a variety of conditions. It seems probable,
however, that still further advance may be made by the
iutelligent application of hydraulic principles.

Leland Stanford Jr. University,
Palo Alto, Cat.

RESONANCE IN BOILER EXPLOSIONS.

By Lieut. W. Stuakt-Hmith, U. S. N.

Occasionally a boiler explodes under circumstances
which make it exceedingly difficult to determine the cause.
The evidence of those in whose charge the boiler is en-
trusted is to the effect that the steam pressure was not
above the normal and water was carried at the proper
height, so there could be no danger of explosion from
overheated plates. An examination of the debris shows
no evidence of overheating the metal of the shell,
traces, etc., show good section, with no evidence of se-
rious erosion, and a test shows the metal to be of good
quality. With good metal of proper section and boiler
well proportioned, it is manifest that rupture can only
occur through excess of pressure, and the report of the
examiners is that without doubt the fireman neglected
his duty and allowed the pressure to reach a point which
was beyond the strength of the metal to withstand.

In cases where the evidence iu favor of the fire-
man proved to be so strong that no possible doubt
could be expressed regarding the fact that the pressure
was not excessive, and examination showed no defect in
design or material, the necessity for an explanation
brought forth theories to account for instantaneous de-
velopment of enormous pressures. According to one of
these, the water over the furnace crowns might exist in
a spheroidal state — that is, be held out of contact with
the plate by a layer of steam — in consequence of which
the plate became highly heated, and the spheroidal state
being broken, the water was brought into contact with
the hot plate and flashed into steam, thus producing a
sudden enormous pressure, with a resulting explosion.
The propounders of this theory did not realize that, owing

to the large amount of heat rendered latent in evaporating
a small quantity of water, the excess of heat in the plate
would not be sufficient to evaporate any considerable
quantity, even if such a spheroidal state, with consequent
heating, would be possible with the rough plates and
other conditions existing in a boiler.

Another theory that was much propounded was that
water was decomposed by some electric action, audthat
the resulting oxygen and hydrogen, existing as a highly
explosive compound in the proportions necessary for
formation of water, accumulating in considerable quan-
tity, was in some manner ignited, with resulting enor-
mous increase of pressure and explosion of boiler. Ap-
parently no consideration was taken of the fact that even
if oxygen and hydrogen were thus formed they would
pass off with the steam, hydrogen especially, on account
of its low specific gravity, being very quick to do so.

At present such theories are scoffed at, and the verdict
is that the pressure was allowed to become too great —
a faulty steam gauge or other cause preventing a careful
fireman from being aware of the fact. Such verdicts,
however, are sometimes rendered solely because the ex-
aminers realize that excessive pressure must be the
cause, and, rejecting what they know are absurd notions,
they find themselves confronted with the necessity of
assigning a valid reason.

Still, mysterious explosions sometimes occur, and
the writer believes they may be caused by a sudden in-
crease of pressure, and offers the following explanation,
which, while it may, to some, seem as absurd as the the-
ories quoted, is founded on strictly scientific principles
and represents a by no means impossible condition.

Resonance has long been studied in relation to sound,
but it is only within recent times that the very impor-
tant place it may occupy in cases where force is transmit-
ted by means of vibrations in elastic media, has been re-
alized. In cases where steam and other vapors and
gases are used as the media for the transmission of force,
this transmission is not accomplished by means of vibra-
tions in the elastic medium, but the medium itself is
strained, and beiug transmitted in mass to the point
where it is desired to have work performed, it is placed
in conditions favorable to the release of the teusion.
During this recovery from the strained state, work is per-
formed equal in amount to the energy which disappeared
in producing the strained condition. It is only in the
case of those substances, such as gases and vapors, which
are elastic and mobile in the highest degree, and which
can have their volumes varied through wide limits
without altering this state, that practical use, for purpose
of performing continuous work, can be made tendency
to recover from a state of strain. Other substances, such
as ivory, glass, etc., are highly elastic, but the limits
through which they can be strained are too narrow to
permit of their use in performing continuous work.

Vapors and gases, possessing the property of elasticity
in such high degree, are not only capable of receiving
enormous static strain, and in this state, being trans-
ferred from place to place, but they are capable of being
strained by an impulse received at one point, and of re-
covering from this state of strain by transmitting it to
neighboring portions of the mass, thereby setting up vi-
brations which gradually die out, owing to the want of
perfect elasticity. This fact being recognized, it is pos-
sible to offer a theory which the writer believes furnishes
a correct explanation of many mysterious boiler explo-
sions, and incidentally accounts for some peculiar look-
ing indicator diagrams which are usually set down as
water in the cylinder, inertia of the moving parts of the
indicator, etc.

The distributing valve of the engine being closed,
steam fills boiler, steam pipe and valve chest, and has no

:i6

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

motion as a mass. The valve opens and permits steam
to enter the cylinder, thereby giving motion to the mass
of steam in the pipe, the velocity attained being, say,
100 feet to the second at the moment of cut-off. When
cut-off occurs this motion is arrested at the steam chest
owing to the rigidity of the metal, but along the body
of the pipe no such impediment exists, and owing to its
inertia the steam continues its forward movement, com-
pressing the portion before it until the resistance to com-
pression finally brings the mass to rest. When this oc-
curs the steam at and near the engine will have a den-
sity considerably in excess of that near the boiler, and
there will be the equivalent of an impulse producing
strain at one point of an elastic medium. The result
will be that the recovery from the strained condition
will send a wave toward the other end of the pipe and
the boiler, which wave will tend to travel back and
forth through the pipe with continually decreasing am-
plitude. The same thing will occur at the following and
all other admissions of steam to the cylinder, so that, in
addition to the periodically interrupted forward motion
of the steam as a mass, there will be a series of waves
continually traveling backward and forward through
the pipe. If the time of propagation of a wave from
the engine to the far end of the pipe and return differs
materially from the time elapsing between cut-offs in the
engine, the mass of steam will be filled with a series of
vibrations moving in both directions, and differing in
phase to such an extent that there will be so much inter-
ference as practically to eliminate all vibrations, and in-
struments will make no record of them. If, however,
the conditions are such that the first wave formed travels
forward and returns just as the wave formed by the sec-
ond cutting off is ready to start forward the two will add
themselves together and a single wave of increased am-
plitude but same wave length will go forward, with re-
sult that, in addition to the steady strain on the pipe due
to the pressure of the steam, it will be subjected to waves
of strain which pass along it. This occurring for several
consecutive revolutions of the engine, the amplitude of
the wave will, by resonance, be raised to a very large
figure, and a very great strain be brought to bear on the
pipe. Such a wave passing into the boiler and then re-
bounding will subject it to a sudden increase of pressure,
much in excess of that due to the steam, and will have
its effect increased owing to the fact that it will be ap-
plied as a live load. A sudden enormous increase of
pressure in a boiler may be thus explained on a strictly
scientific principle.

The energy due to the forward movement of the steam
at one cutting off may be readily calculated. Suppose
there is a 10-inch steam pipe 100 feet long, steam press-
ure 125 pounds. At this pressure there are 3.549 cubic
feet of steam per pound, or the total quantity of steam
in the above pipe will be 15.36 pounds. With steam,
at moment of cutting off moving 100 feet per second, the
energy of the moving mass of steam will be 2385 foot
pounds, which is the force which will compress the steam
preparatory to the production of the first wave. In a
very brief period, if the conditions are right for the
production of resonance, this energy will be many times
multiplied.

Such a condition of affairs is certainly possible, though
it will occur only at rare intervals, and it is sufficient to
account for some mysterious explosions. It is impossi-
to guard against, owing to the variety of conditions
which are influential in producing it. In order that the
maximum effect may be produced it is necessary that the
primary vibration period of the steam in the pipe should
correspond with the times of cutting off steam in the
cylinder, and there is usually sufficient variation in the
speed of the engine to perhaps greatly promote interfer-

ence; moreover, the vibration period of the steam is it-
self continually changing, as it depends upon the elasti-
city of the steam, which is a continually varying
quantity, since it is affected by every variation in the
pressure and by every variation in the amount of en-
trained moisture. It might happen that a steam plant
would operate for many years without the proper con-
dition for maximum resonance occurring; then the proper
relation of steam pressure, entrained moisture and
engine speed might occur, and in a few moments a
disastrous explosion would take place, with absolutely
nothing to show the reason why. Steam pipes as well as
boilers will explode from this cause.

With regard to the engine indicator, it occasionally
happens that an instrument which is in excellent condi-
tion and usually takes fine cards, is applied to an engine,
and the cards show an admission line which rises far
above the steam line, and even far above full boiler
pressure. Sometimes this line falls back at once to
steam line, and again it may enclose a small area before
reaching this line. The expert thinks there is water in
the cylinder, and, finding this is not the case, blames the
indicator. There may in reality be water in the cylin-
der in some cases, and certainly indicators are sometimes
to blame for such additions to the card, but it will be
occasionally noted that some particular engine has a habit
of showing such cards when the steam is dry and the indi-
cator in good order. At times, even, there is a hump in
the steam line between admission and cut-off. If our
theory that resonance may cause, in the steam pipe,
waves of considerable amplitude is correct, we have a
possible explanation of some of these card peculiarities.
If, as the valve was opening, or after it opened and before
steam was cut off, a wave reached the steam chest it
would record itself locally on the card as an increased
pressure which would be called " water " if made on the
admission line, and a curiosity if made on the steam
line. Of course it could produce no effect after steam
was cut off.

Where an engine persists in showing this peculiarity
it seems probable that the conditions as to length of
steam pipe, pressure carried, revolutions per minute, etc.,
are right for producing partial resonance, either with the
main wave or one of the harmonics, and it would be well
to so alter the condition as to breakup this resonance in
order to avert danger of explosion due to an accidental
adjustment of conditions whereby more perfect resonance
might occur.

Berkeley, Cal., Nov 25, 1895.

MULES FOR PASSENGERS.

The march of improvement has deprived the little city
of Ontario, Cal., of the greatest novelty that that town
afforded. Before the trolley made its advent, a solitary
car used to wend its way, pulled up a slight incline be-
tween a beautiful avenue of trees several miles in length,
the motive power being a pair of patient mules. When
the end of the road was reached, a curious sort of flat
car, looking not unlike an old-fashioned trundle bed,
was pulled from under the passenger car and hooked be-
hind. The two mules then mounted their flat car, the
driver took his place at the brakes, and the trip commenced
down the grade to the town, and of all who have taken
this romantic ride, none have enjoyed it more than the
mules themselves.

The popularity of a technical publication can best be
determined by the demand for it, and in this connection
it is interesting to note that it has been necessary to re-
print two numbers of the " Journal of Electricity."
namely, the August and September issues, to supply
orders for back numbers.

Nov., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

117

l^e Journal of ^Etectritittj.

An Illustrated Review of the Industrial Applications of Electricity, Gas and Power-

EDITED BY

F. A. C. PERRINE, D. Sc, and GEO. P. LOW.

Subscription Payable in Advance. Terms :— Domestic,
Dollar per Year; Foreign, Ttvo Dollars per Year.
The Rates for Advertising are Moderate.

One

PUBIiISHED IHOflTHIjV BY GEO. P. IiOW,
303 California Street San Francisco.

LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE, MAIN 5709.

[Entered as Second-Class Matter at the San Francisco Postoffice.J

VOLUME I.

NOVEMBER, 1895.

NUMBER 5.

EDITCTRIAL.

THE

FAR WEST

RECOGNIZED.

The recent appointment of a local sec-
retary of the American Institute of Elec-
trical Engineers for the Pacific Coast
shows an important advance in the pol-
icy of the Institute as well as an encour-
aging sign of the character of the elec-
trical engineering on the Pacific Coast. Heretofore the
Institute has been charged, with more or less justice, with
being a close corporation, run in the interests of certain
members residing about the city of New York. The
first succeessful broadening of the Institute policy was
found in the establishment of local meetings in Chicago;
but local meetings have been viewed with suspicion by
certain of the New York members, and little encourage-
ment has been given to the informal meetings of members
at places where the membership was too small to war-
rant local meetings on the Institute plan. The informal
meetings held in San Francisco during the past winter
were of undoubted personal benefit to all members who
attended, and they will, we hope, be the cause of bring-
ing forth a greater mumber of papers written by those
residing on the Pacific Coast. It is gratifying now to
find that at last the efforts made toward impressing the
necessity for greater recognition of the Pacific Coast
members have been appreciated by the Council, and
there is but little doubt that the confidence shown by the
appointment of a local secretary will be amply justified.

COMPETITION

IN THE
TELEGRAPH.

While undoubtedly the recent decision
of the Supreme Court, denying the right
of the Pacific railroads to make an ex-
clusive lease of their right of way to any
one telegraph company, will have an
important bearing on the telegraph ser-
vice to points between San Francisco and Chicago, and
possibly upon the general telegraph business of the Pacific
Coast, it must not be supposed that the entire question
of the competing telegraph line is settled by this decision

ELECTRIC VS.
"COAL CAR"

TRANSMISSION.

of the courts. The courts may without a doubt compel
the revocation of such exclusive leases, but it is hardly
possible that they will undermine the present good will
existing between the telegraph companies and the rail-
road. This good will of itself is in geueral of a greater
value to the telegraph company than the simple question
of right "of way, since it is the custom of the railroad
company, which acts in harmony with any particular
telegraph company, to furnish a system of inspection to
the telegraph company, through the medium of their
track walkers, and to allow special facilities on their
trains for the transportation of repair supplies and line-
men. Where such courtesies are not extended, the
simple right of way is of comparatively little value, in-
deed, of almost no more value than the right of way
through the open country by the side of the railroad
track, which at any time might have been secured.
These complicated conditions are not often considered
by the general public, in rejoicing over a court decision
similar to that we have chronicled, whereas, to the prac-
tical engineer, the points now covered are of more im-
portance than those upon which the courts may render
their decisions.

It is with interest that we note that
an effort will be made to transmit elec-
trical energy from the mines of Corral
Hollow to Stockton, San Jose and other
cities, and even with greater interest do
we hear that the power derived is to be
applied to the operation of an electric railroad thirty-
two miles in length, extending from Livermore to Oak-
land. Proposals similar to this have been made in
England, and for a transmission of energy from the
Pennsylvania coal fields to certain of the neighboring-
East eru cities, although the application of power to rail-
roading is a proposal which adds a new element, opening
new possibilities to the plan. The possible financial
economy of the scheme depends upon whether it would
be cheaper to transmit the energy of the coal over an
electrical line than it would be to carry the coal itself by
railway or steamer to the point of consumption. In the
one case an excess of electrica energy must be developed,
which is utilized in the transmission of the electricity it-
self; in the second case, a proportion of the coal itself
must be burned to effect the transportation. In carrying
the coal bodily, account must be taken of the mainten-
ance of the railway necessary for its transportation,
whereas in the transmission of power by the means of
electricity is had a cheaper line to maintain, although,
perhaps, a greater amount of the total energy of the coal
must be utilized in the transmission. The calculations
made by English engineers have indicated that the elec-
trical transmission of energy of the coal is probabljr the
cheapest manner in which a definite amount of coal can
be used, and when we consider the fact that freight rates
are much lower throughout Eugland than in California,
it seems that we may be able to predict a very consider-
able financial saving to the users of the electrically trans-
mitted power, as well as a profitable undertaking to the
owners and promoters of the electrical enterprise.

n8

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

The question of light haulage by the

means of electric motors has attracted

light haulage mucjj attention since the early attempt

BY MEANS OF . . .

ELECTRIC MOTORS. °f the late Prof- Flemlng Jenkm t0 eS"

tablish in England an automatic over-
head hauling system which he named
Telepherage. Little success attended the various efforts
to establish telepherage lines on account of the fact that
the overhead line construction to support motors suffi-
ciently heavy for the necessary tractive effect was too
expensive when compared with tram lines laid upon the
ground, although the construction necessary simply to
carry the loads to be moved might in some cases be
cheaper than tram lines. The Boynton bicycle railway is
one that possibly reduces the cost of construction when
compared with the other systems of elevated railways,
but it can hardly be possible that any such rigid over-
head construction would be as economical as a surface
road.

These difficulties have been met by Mr. Richard Lamb
in his system now being installed along the banks of the
Erie Canal, and already in successful operation for the
haulage of logs in the Ditmal Swamp of Virginia. The
system consists of a pair of standing ropes suspended
from a stout pole line construction, the upper cable car-
rying the weight of the motor and its load, while the
lower cable is proportioned simply to afford tractive
effect by means of passing it several times around a
sheave attached to the locomotive motor. The current
is carried by the bearing rope, and returned to ground
through the traction rope. Undoubtedly, less power
will be used by this system than that which is necessary
in the commoner systems of cableways with running
traction ropes, and a wide application might be predicted
for such a system in the hauling of light loads over mod-
erate distances.

The important proposition of this haulage system, how-
ever, is one that looks towards the re-establishment of
artificial inland waterways that have so largely been
superseded by steam roads. No doubt the Lamb system
is a system well adapted to boat towage, but its success
as a means of haulage does not by any means establish
the efficiency of artificial inland waterways. In the
case of the Erie Canal, fifty-one millions of dollars have
already been expended upon its construction, and it is
stated at the present time that nine millions further
must be spent before the canal can be operated at a
maximum efficiency. Mr. Frank W. Hawley, who has
the contract for applying electric haulage to this canal,
anticipates that its introduction will warrant the use of
about three thousand boats carrying two hundred and
sixty tons each on the canal, which would mean that as
many as ten boats to the mile would be towed. These
boats, as recently built, have cost fifty-five hundred dol-
lars each, and when we consider that at least fifteen
central stations, having an aggregate capacity of not
less than thirty thousand horse-power will be required to
furnish the power, it is at once seen that the interest on

the cost of the investment necessary to apply the system to
the Erie Canal in an efficient manner would bring the cost
of transportation of goods from Buffalo to Albany up to
a figure which would be little if any below the charges
now made by the steam roads, and it is hard to see how
the simple applicability of any such haulage system by
the means of electrical power would warrant the great
outlay necessary for building and maintaining an ex-
pensive system of artificial inland waterways such as
are proposed from time to time by the daily press in its
campaign against the alleged extortionate freight rates.

It is surprising that a journal as care-
fully edited as the Engineering Magazine
an inaccurate should print an article so full of inac-

ESTIMATE OF POWER cnrades ag thafc of Alton D Adamg 0Q
TRANSMISSION. . .

the " Limits of Electrical Power Trans-
mission," which purports to show that
the annual fixed charges on an electrical transmission
line twenty-five miles long will amount to $22.83 per
horse-power hour, as against a cost of $25.00 per hour
for steam power, coal costing between $2 and $3 per
ton. If the statements in this paper could be estab-
lished, there certainly could be no possible economical
distribution of power from a water-fall or other source
greater than fifteen to twenty miles ; but when we ana-
lyze the items of cost given by Mr. Adams, which pre-
tend to be the lowest possible figures, we find that he
makes the statement that 4794 horse-power of electrical
machinery at $20 per horse power are required in the
transmission and delivery of 1000 horse-power, the total
amount of power being composed of 1520 horse-power in
generators, 1000 horse-power in motors and 2397 horse-
power in transformers, omitting altogether the consider-
ation of the fact that the Stanley Electric Company
transmits power at 10,000 volts without the intervention
of transformers. We are astonished to see that Mr. Ad-
ams rates such generators and transformers as high as
$20 per horse-power, whereas during the last year gen-
erating machinery has been sold on the coast as low as
$11.00 per horse-power in cases where not more than
500 horse-power were purchased, and the figures that he
gives are higher than the price for 600-light dynamos in
the city of Boston four years ago. Besides this mis-
statement, Mr. Adams has included in his estimate for
wire the amount necessary to transmit 1000 horse-power
100 miles, in place of 25 miles, which is the assumed con-
dition of his problem. Making these corrections in his
figures, we find that his total cost of installation is to be
divided by at least two, and in place of almost $23 per
hour for transmission cost, not more than $10 or $12
should be allowed.

Transmissions approximating the distances he attempts
to prove impossible have, unfortunately for Mr. Adams's
figures, already proved themselves to be economical, and
such inaccurate statements will do little to advance ra-
tional transmissions or to guard against those which are
irrational.

Nov., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

119

passing Qcmmsnt.

AN EDITORIAL REVIEW OF CURRENT EVENTS AND
PUBLICATIONS OF OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

The question of the rating a. id behavior of fuse wires
has at last been adequately treated iu a paper read by
Prof. W. M. Stein before the American Institute of Elec-
trical Engineers. The minimum currents required to
fuse such wires has been accurately ascertained in the
experiments of Preece. The experiments of Harrington
show the great currents they will carry on short circuits,
and although it has heretofore been understood that time
is a factor in the current necessary for fusion, the par-
ticular valu3 of this time factor has not been clearly
shown experimentally. These experiments have proba-
bly established the most accurate methods of fuse test-
ing, and we fortunately are now able to predict the
action of fuse wires under various currents, applied either
rapidly or slowly.

In the Electrical Engineer for October 16th a leading
article calls attention to the practical installation of elec-
tric launches as pleasure craft on a large park lake, and
to those who have had the pleasure of riding on these
launches at the Chicago Fair it is not surprising that
such installations should be found remunerative.

While it may be possible that the weight of the cells
is a disadvantage in tramway work, and that the con-
stant jarring will disintegrate the plates, there is no
doubt but that they are acting under ideal conditions
when applied to boats, and there can hardly be a system
conceived more directly applicable to their needs than in
electric roads which are continually striving to increase
their earnings by the establishment of parks and excur-
sion parties. The current for charging is at hand wher-
ever cars run, and the rates of fare are much higher
than can be charged for any equivalent amount of land
haulage.

One of the most important papers before the Montreal
convention of the American Street Railway Association
was read by N". W. L. Brown on the preservation of ties
and poles by means of creosoting. Iron poles, though
strong, have not given the life that was at first hoped
from their use. Such materials as redwood and cedar
are too weak to stand the great strains applied to trolley
suspenders, while the life of the stronger woods is found
to be very limited.

Creosoting has obtained an unmerited position of dis-
favor on account of the imperfect manner in which this
operation has often been performed, but Mr. Brown's
tests prove that where the work is thoroughly done the
life both of poles and ties are so far increased that the
operation is one effecting a great economy when all the
items of annual expense are included. This subject is
well worthy of consideration on the Pacific Coast partic-
ularly, as the long, dry summer effectually seasons the
timber and greatly reduces the cost of creosoting as com-
pared with localities where wet timber must be treated.

The question of transfers on our street railway sys-
tems has been so throughly discussed in the daily papers
from the standpoint of the passenger, that one would
almost imagine there were no disadvantages connected
with the transfers to the railway management. Should
such disadvantages consist simply of the decreased serv-
ice for a single fare from individual passengers, the argu-
ment against their extensive use might be invalid, but
to any one who holds this opinion there would be great
enlightenment on reading the article by J. A. Cahoon, on
the " Use and Abuse of Transfers," in the Electrical

World of October 18th, where it is shown that the prin-
cipal loss to the railway companies comes not so much
from their legitimate use by the passengers as from their
illegitimate use by the conductors and motormen, largely
increasing the stealing from the company. We venture
to assert that rarely does a street railway company wish
to curtail its traffic or to inconvenience its passengers,
but until some system of transfers be adopted which will
avoid their being exchanged from one conductor to
another, much sympathy must be felt for any railway
company desiring to curtail their use.

The exact measurement of voltage, current and resist-
ance by means of potentiometers is treated in an article
in the Electrical World of October 12th, by W. M. Stein,
of Chicago, in which he calls attention to the inaccuracies
often creeping into the application of the potentiometer
method of measuring current. This method is one that
is so easily applied with a simple sensitive galvanome-
ter, a standard cell and a couple of high resistances, that
it admits the exact measurement of large currents for
testing purposes where a high-reading galvanometer or
ammeter are not at hand, and the method of using it
should be thoroughly understood by all engineers. An
imperfect understanding, however, will easily lead to
exceedingly inaccurate results, and the principles in-
volved, while simple, have been misstated even to the
extent of omitting the instructions necessary for connect-
ing to eliminate the internal resistance of the standard
cell and galvanometer.

The method consists simply in passing the current to
be measured through a large German silver resistance,
the value of which is kuown ; at the ends of this resist-
ance a series of high resistances are connected in par-
allel with it, and the terminals of the standard cell con-
nected through the galvanometer in such a sense that the
e. m. f. of the standard cell will be opposed to the fall of
potential from one end to the other of the high resistance.
When the connection of the standard cell to the high
resistance is so adjusted that there is no deflection of the
galvanometer, then the e. m. f. between the terminals of
the standard resistance is obtained by the relation of the
total resistance between its tei minals to the resistance
of that portion which equals the e. m. f. of the standard
cell.

Following the recent meeting of the Street Railway
Association in Montreal, considerable amount of space
has been devoted by all of the electrical papers to the
subject of the most efficient brake for trolley tramroads.
The speeds employed in these roads have continually in-
creased from six or eight miles an hour to fifteen or twenty,
and, even in some cases where considerable distances
are to be covered in suburban districts, speeds exceeding
thirty miles an hour are employed. When we consider
the great momentum of a car weighing from fifteen to
twenty tons running at such speeds, we can at once realize
not only the difficulty but the importance of an efficient
brake system. For ordinary stops the efficiency of the
brake does not become of so great importance as it does
when an emergency stop is to be made. Cable roads are
all provided with an emergency brake, consisting of a
solid shoe which may be pressed against the track hard
enough to lift the car free from its wheels should ex-
treme rapidity in braking be necessary, but where such
brakes have been applied to cars not held to the track,
as is the case with the cable car, by means of the grip
attached to the cable, this emergency brake has been
found likely to derail the car, and, in consequence, such
a method may not be employed. The two methods of
emergency braking, which seem to have been met with
the greatest favor, are the air brake and the Sperry elec-
tric brake. Up to the present time, the disadvantage

120

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

of the electric brake has been found to be due to the fact
that it requires the car motor to be rapidly transformed
into a generator, and, where the commutator contact
on the motor is dirty by long service, it will gener-
ally refuse to build up its own field and generate the
current, while the air brake requires considerable extra
weight for the brake mechanism, and depends upon a
reservoir which may fail when the car is running slowly
through a crowded district requiring frequent stops. It
certainly seems that the electric brake is capable of giv-
ing much more efficiency than can be obtained by the
means of an air-brake, but until one or the other of these
systems has attained a greater perfection than is appar-
ent up to the present, the running of high speed trolley
cars must be considered as attended with a very appre-
ciable amount of danger to foot passengers crossing the
tracks. '_

The discussion which has followed Professor Forbes'
publication of his view concerning the engineering con-
test in the Niagara transmission, has led to some adverse
criticism of Lord Kelvin's preference for direct curreut
power transmission, and many eminent authorities, led,
perhaps, by Professor S. P. Thompson, have laid partic-
ular stress upon the adaptability of alternate currents to
many various uses. It is stated by these advocates of
alternate current transmission that no other system can
be so easily manipulated and adapted to the many pur-
poses of arc and incandescent lighting, long distance
transmission of power, the transformation into any re-
quired voltage, aud the regulation by the means of con-
trollers, requiring but a small expenditure of energy ; but
these engineers have not taken the pains to call general
attention to the fact, that, though an alternating current
may be easily adapted to such uses, it is not by any
means true that the same alternating current is appli-
cable in every case. In order to install incandescent
lamps with the maximum economy as regards first cost
of lines and transformers, it is necessary that a current
with a high number of alternations be employed , for
efficient arc lamps to operate without annoying, noisy
vibrations, a periodicity much less must be used, while
the proper regulation of such lamps by impedence coils
demands a current of high periodicity. Again, motors
and rotary transformers are only to be considered as
acting under ideal conditions whenever the periodicity
is so low that the current approaches almost a pair of
continuous currents iu its character. The only engineer
who has appreciated this problem sufficiently to attack
its solution seems to have been Professor Rowland, to
whom a late patent has been granted for a device capa-
ble of changing an alternating current of any number of
phases or periodicity into one of any other number of
phases, or other periodicity, varying the transformation
of an alternating current all the way from a continuous
current to a high periodicity multiphase current. As
this invention has been explained up to the present time,
it presents formidable complications, which seem to
leave for the alternating current but small maintenance
advantages above the continuous current system, which
it seeks to replace, and to be very little if any better
than the continuous current transmission operating
motor transformers.

The great powers, which are available in coal mines
and water-falls, are already being looked at with some
suspicion by competent engineers, on account of their
remoteness from the manufacturing centers. Although
there is no doubt that the limit of twenty-five miles,
which has been set by a writer in the Engineering Mag-
azine, which we notice elsewhere, is entirely too small a
limit, still the investigations of our best engineers, who
have attempted the solution of long distance problems,

show that the limit of economical transmission with ma-
chinery operating at 15,000 volts is not far from fifty
miles where alternating current machinery is employed ;
that direct current machinery will extend this limit is
difficult to predict, though it seems that many cases
might be found in which the greater adaptability of
direct current machinery to the many uses for which it
might be employed would prove to be a greater financial
success until the difficulties of manipulating alternating
currents, as above indicated, have been more perfectly
solved.

'j&iteratocre.

Electrical Enginkh^inu, Leaflets, in three grades, Element-
ary, Intermediate and Advanced, by Prof. Edwin J. Houston,
Ph. D., and A. E. Kennelly, F. R. A. S., 8-vo, cloth, 300 pp.
Price for each course, $3.00. The Electrical Engineer, New
York, 1895.

It is gratifying to notice that the desire for informa-
tion concerning the principles of electrical science has
become sufficient to warrant the production of many
courses of instruction from the pens of the most distin-
guished and competent engineers. Among the many
books published during the past few years with the aim
of supplying this need, we have noticed none by authors
more competent of speakiug to practical men than these
three volumes, which have been divided into grades, as
best suited to the needs — first, of artisans with little or
no knowledge of mathematics ; secondly, to the under-
standing of those having an elementary knowledge of
mathematics, and thirdly, to the needs of students pur-
suing a more advanced course under the direction of a
competent instructor.

The value of the study to the student in any such
course depends upon the exactness and thoroughness
with which the elementary principles are explained
rather than upon the newness of the apparatus described,
and can never in any published book be entirely in har-
mony with the most recent practice, on account of the
ever-changing nature of recent applications. Of these
three sets of leaflets, the greatest importance is attached
to the elementary grade, for the reason that so little
which is accurate has been written that has been adapted
to the understanding of electrical artisans and others with
little or no previous knowledge of the subject.

It is a question whether the advanced course does not
include more than can thoroughly be taught to univer-
sity students in Electrical Engineering without an exten-
sion which would divide the subject matter of these leaf-
lets into two or three separate courses of instruction ;
though for mechanical engineers and others whose time
is largely devoted to collateral branches, an elementary
knowledge of the principles and application of electric-
ity is here given most clearly and concisely.

Turning our attention now to the leaflets of the Ele-
mentary grade, and viewing them from the standpoint of
those for whom they are designed, we should expect to
find sufficient information therein to enable a man who
has completed their perusal to understand the conversa-
tions and the simpler descriptive writing of the ordinary
electrical engineer, and we should demand that the infor-
mation should be exact, as far as the student is carried.
It is with much pleasure that we find here that this aim
has been mainly well carried out, and that withal the
writing is so phrased as to be easily understandable. But
we must presume that there is a good amount of intelli-
gence and earnestness possessed by any man who would
take the trouble to follow this course voluntarily. If
this is so, it seems to us to be a pity that our authors
have begun by confusing the terms "energy" and "work,"
in the first chapter, though each term is correctly used in

Nov., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

121

the body of the book. Again, we notice that the expia-
tion of the term "potential'' has been altogether omitted,
though Its elementary explanation can certainly be made
simple, even though a complete understanding of "po-
tential" may be difficult, and this omission is the more
unfortunate since it is hardly possible for any one to un-
derstand what is said by engineers without its use. Bo-
sides this, the term "potential," when understood, ex-
plains more perfectly the character of the volt as a unit,
and brings it more nearly to the comprehension of those
who are accustomed to use the common mechanical
units in the measurement of concrete quantities. Exactly
why such a unit as the watt is omitted from the defini-
tions, when the more complicated magnetic units are
introduced, is hard to explain, especially as the authors
use the unit by name in the body of their own text.

In the discussion of magnetism one would criticise the
introductiou of the term "magnetic flux," and its confu-
sion with the lines of direction in a magnetic field ; these
terms are altogether distiuct, and it seems that a great
confusion may be produced in the minds of practical men
which will be hard to eradicate.

On the whole, however, these points which have been
criticised are not of great importance when we observe
that tbe general tenor of the book is exact, and that its
careful perusal will give a good understanding of the
principles of the science, and will lay a firm foundation
for further study. If the perusal of this first volume
will lead any mau to continue his studies into the second
or intermediate grade of leaflets, the omissions we have
noticed are largely supplied, and a course through the
two books is the best and most practical that we have yet
seen.

In no one of the three volumes is the true theory of
the glass line insulator explained, and the province of the
petticoat is not mentioned. Many constructors are prone
to consider only the insulating property of the glass
without reference to surface conduction, which leads
too often to insulators beiug installed upside down as well
as to the use of porcelain knobs out of doors, which would
point to the importance of a more thorough discussion
of the action of line insulators in such a course of in-
struction.

Much has been written at many times, especially in
books treating primarily of physics, which refers so im-
perfectly to theories of electrical action that the element-
ary student is confused in his more advanced studies, and
it is with great gratification that we notice in none of
these leaflets matter which must be unlearned before an
advance can be made. The three courses are well
adapted to the needs of those for whom they are de-
signed, and, though each is complete iu itself, yet, as
already stated, a great amount of benefit may be derived
in considering the first two sets as a continued course,
and in pursuing the third under the direction of an in-
structor.

The Electrical Transmission of Energy, by Arthur Vaughan
Abbott, C. E., New York, D. Van Nostrand Company; pp. 586,
8-vo. Price, $4.50.

We have already published a preliminary notice of
this manual of electric line construction, written by Mr.
Abbott, the chief engineer of the Chicago Telegraph
Company, and under whose supervision some of the best
transmission lines in the United States have been con-
structed. It is not often that an engineer so well quali-
fied has the inclination, and finds the time for giving the
results of his mature deliberations to the general public
through the medium of a book, but when it is our good
fortune to obtain such a work, we find with the liveliest
sense of satisfaction that the instructions given are all of
an authoritative character, and that they will repay the
closest perusal.

Naturally the section of this book on the construction
of aerial lines, occupying three chapters, is the most
valuable and complete, since these circuits are the ones
most carefully studied by the telephone engineer. The
lines of the American Bell Telephone Company through-
out the country are undoubtedly the best constructed
of any system of transmission lines, and, although Mr.
Abbott gives us complete information concerning the
general subject of line guying, and the construction of
poles for carrying great loads, and for standing the ex-
cessive strains applied to anchor poles, we search in vain
for the consideration which has led the telephone com-
pany to adopt their system of construction, which in-
cludes extra braces for cross arms, and a complicated
system of guying in the direction of the line itself, iu ad-
dition to the very complete system of side guys em-
ployed. The section devoted to the construction of
electric railway circuits is more complete, including as it
does the return circuit with an extensive discussion of
the rail bonding question and electrolysis. Throughout
the book there are a great number of different tables,
some of which have been calculated by the author from
well-established data, while others represent experimen-
tal results obtained by various investigators, and while
there is no doubt of the usefulness of these tables and
their general reliability, it seems unfortunate that in so
few cases are the authorities for the tables given, which
leaves the reader in consequent doubt as to whether the
tables are due to the author's own investigations, or to
those of others working in the same line. This is par-
ticularly uufortuuate when we find that in some cases
doubtful constants have been used, such as the conduc-
tivities in tables Nos. 3 and 7, where undoubtedly the
published reports of manufacturing companies have
been accepted as accurate without sufficient justification.

In his discussion of wire gauge he states that the
Brown and Sharp gauge has been accepted as the stand-
ard for this country, but at the same time his tables for
iron wire refer to the Imperial Standard gauge, which,
so far as we are aware, has not been used to any extent
by either our manufacturers or constructors. Some of
the tables are also presented without accurate data or
formula for their verification or extension, which is in
many cases decidedly important, as, for instance, the
table on page 453, purporting to give the areas given,
covered by multiple wire systems, conforms neither to
the indefinite formula which is given, from which it is
supposed to have been computed, nor to any one of the
well-established methods of obtaining the results given.
Again, we find in table No. 55 the statements of the
relative amounts of conducting material required in
various conducting systems where continuous and multi-
phase alternating systems are employed, but no method
is given by which the table may be verified, or by which
the engineer can obtain for himself the size of conduct-
ors necessary to carry a definite current on the multi-
phase systems. Where curves and tables of cost are
furnished, we notice that they refer more particularly to
European practice, and, in consequence, the data given
is of comparatively little value to American engineers,
especially as no general method is indicated whereby
the tables may be corrected in order to conform with
our practice.

The same criticism that the book conforms more nearly
to English practice than that which is in vogue in this
country may be applied to the chapter on underground
lines. An explanation of this may be, perhaps, found in
the statement made in the preface of the book that the
object aimed at is to make the statements throughout
correspond more nearly to the future direction of prac-
tice than to a historical exposition of what has been
done, but where so important a matter as the construe-

122

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

tion of underground conduits is to be undertaken, the
engineer would hardly be justified in following the lines
laid down as typifying European practice in the Crornp-
ton, Calender-Weber and other such systems, without
the aid of a more definite expression of opinion and the
results of experience than are given in this book, espec-
ially since the descriptions seem to have been taken
from the publication called " Practical Electrical Engi-
neering," rather than described from personal observa-
tion.

Two long chapters are devoted to a description of in-
struments, and to an exposition of the practical methods
of electrical measurement, while the only reason that
can be discerned for their insertion is that the methods
explained conform more nearly to engineering practice
than to those of the laboratory ; and, although there can
be no doubt but that there is a need for such treatment
of this subject, it is to be very much questioned whether
the exposition occurs properly in this book, since the
presence of these chapters must have added to the cost
of publication, and the matter published is less than is

has been closely followed without any marked exten-
sions of the methods and results there given, except in
the case where the treatment of the calculation for the
most economical conductor in any given transmission is
furnished. While following closely the lines laid down
by the English author, he has succeeded in giving an in-
telligible exposition of the subject, which was decidedly
lacking in the English treatise. The methods explained
for the calculations of mains and feed wires in any sys-
tem follow closely those explained in the work above
mentioned, and it seems surprising that Mr. Abbott has
not distinguished between circuits when lights are all on
or all off at one time, and circuits on which the lights
are altogether independent, especially since the distinc-
tion between these cases has beeu carefully made by
Carl Hering in his book, the " Wiring Computer." One
is compelled to feel on reading this book that while un-
doubtedly an authority on certain subjects, Mr. Abbott
has presented to us a great deal of undigested matter,
and has limited his discussion of the subjects with which
he is thoroughly conversant on account of lack of space.

Handling a Heavy Cable.

required by the engineer in all of his every-day meas-
urements. It seems to us that it would have been much
better if this section had been reserved for a more com-
plete treatment in a separate treatise, especially as the
subject matter given by Abbott has already been pre-
sented by Park Benjamin in his book on the Voltaic
cell.

We have already alluded to the lack of information
necessary to calculate alternate current lines, and this
lack is more apparent when we find that a chapter has
been devoted to the expression of the theory of alternate
currents following closely the lines of Bedell and Crehore,
but not advancing in any particular way beyond the
theoretical elements laid down by those authors. The
same matter might have been explained much more in-
telligently had the method of Steinmetz's Graphical An-
alysis been followed, which would have allowed its ex-
tension to practical calculations. The section devoted
to the calculation of lines for both series and parallel
distribution is the most complete that has been given in
any American book, but the method of the author in the
work already noted, " Practical Electrical Engineering,"

As we have already said, the subject of aerial lines has
been thoroughly and well treated so far as the treatment
goes, and that the subject of electric railroad circuits has
been well covered, and that, although the careful col-
lection of matter contained in this book is an exceed-
ingly valuable thing to all engineers, we feel disposed to
express disappointment that one who is so competent an
authority has not given a fuller expression of opinion on
those subjects covered by his experience.

THE ELECTROLYSIS OF ORES.

The electrolytic separation of metals from their ores
is accomplished by first reducing the crude ore chemi-
cally to salts capable of being electrolyzed. Different
salts of the same metal, treated by different methods,
yield to electrolysis with different degrees of facility, and
produce the metal with varying degrees of purity, and in
variable quantity with the same current. On the nature
of the preliminary process, therefore, depends the suc-
cess or failure of the results. Among the various ores
reduced in this manner are zinc, lead, copper, silver,
gold, aluminum, sodium and magnesium.

N

ov.

1895-]

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

123

SACRAMENTO ELECTRIC POWER AND
LIGHT COMPANY.

The sub-station building of the Sacramento
Electric Power and Light Company, corner of
Sixth and H streets, Sacrameuto, which was
only partially completed in September last at
the time of the Electric Carnival, is now finished.
As previously stated, the building is of fire-proof
construction, and is of practically three stories,
the basement being used for storage purposes,
the first floor containing the three-phase syn-
chronous motors and the street rail way generators
and arc-lighting dynamos, together with suites
of offices, while the fourth tioor contains the
step-down transformer vaults and the testing
rooms and supply rooms and other accommoda-
tions usual to central stations. On November
1st the city service rendered from the sub-station
consisted approximately of 1500 incandescent
lamps, about 100 commercial arc lights, and 650
horse-power for street railway uses. The com-
pany has also secured the city lighting contract,
which will call for an additional 100 arc lamps
on December 1st. Three or four hundred horse-
power in motor service is also being delivered.

The finishing of the sub-station and the re-
maining two penstocks and water-wheels at the
Folsom power-house practically marked the
completion of the entire " Transmission Plant
No. 1," and both of these features are illustrated
herewith as supplemental to the article describ-
ing the plant presented in the September number
of The Journal of Electricity.

The fact is also announced that the company
has placed on the market its one and one-half
million dollars in bonds authorized two years
ago by the stockholders, and secured by a deed

Figures 1 and 2.— The Sacramento Electric Power and Light Company's Penstocks at the
Folsom Power House, and the Sacramento Sub-station, respectively.

of trust to the California
Safe Deposit and Trust Com-
pany. These bonds are in
denominations of $1000 each,
and bear 6 per cent, interest.
Though issued in November,
1893, the managers of the com-
pany deemed it advisable to
withhold the bonds from sale
until the entire plant was com-
pleted, and could demonstrate
its ability to earn profits, and
none have ever been sold. As,
however, the plant is now in
successful operation, and the
earnings have proved sufficient
to pay all the operating ex-
penses and bond interest and
still leave a handsome margin
of profit to the stockholders,
application has been made to
the San Francisco Stock and
Bond Exchange to have the
bonds listed, and, after the
usual examination by the Ex-
ecutive Committee of the Ex-
change, the application was
granted, and the bonds were on
Nov. 20th offered for sale for
the first time at $104.

The statement of the officers
of the company shows the as-
sets to be as follows :

124

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

Hydraulic works at Folsom (cash outlay) $ 524,837.41

Convict labor performed by the State for certain

rights, viz : 700,000 working days at $1 per day 700,000.00

Sacramento street railway system 610,650.00

Toboggan railway at East Park, Sacramento. . ...... 3,946.00

Transmission plant at Folsom, and transmission line

to Sacramento, and buildings and lands 496,289.49

Power and distributing station at Sacramento 73,284.40

Arc and incandescent light distribution system at

Sacramento 25,000.00

Total security for bonds $2,434,007.30

With no indebtedness other than the bond issue of $1 ,500,000.00

when the same shall have been realized upon.

The gross annual income of the company amounts to $212,962.36

Deducting —
Operating expenses and maintenance .... $97,697.11

Interest on $1,500,000 bonds 90,000.00

187,697.11

Leaves an available surplus to the stockholders over

all expenses and fixed charges $ 25,265.25

The capacity of the present generating plant at Folsom
is 4000 horse-power, the transmission yieldiug an effi-
ciency in Sacramento of 3000 horse-power, of which only
950 horse-power are being now used in producing the
income of the company as above shown.

Contracts for additional power and light are now being
made, and when the entire present generating capacity
of the company's " Transmission Plant No. 1 " is used,
the net profits to the stockholder, after the payments of
all charges, including bond interest, sinking fund and
depreciation, will be upwards of $125,000 per annum,
leaving out of the question, at present, future extensions
of the generating plant at Folsom, which can be effected
without any further expenditures on dam, headworks or
canal.

PERSONALS.

Mr. S. Morgan Smith of York, Pa., the builder of the
well-known McCormick Turbine, is visiting San Francisco.

Mr. C. D. Crandall, manager of the Western Electric
Co., of Chicago, who is making a business tour through-
out the Pacific Coast, is at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco.

^he ^rade.

SPECIAL REVERSIBLE MILL MOTORS.

The Card Electric Company, of Mansfield, Ohio, has
recently brought out a special piece of apparatus termed
a " mill motor," which is illustrated herewith, and which

Reversible Mill Motor.
Dr. Thos. Addison, manager of the Pacific Coast office
of the General Electric Company, has returned to San
Francisco after an eastern business trip of several weeks
duration.

Lundell Dynamos for Gas Engine Service.

is designed for handling, heavy machinery in rolling
mills, foundries and other places where a strong, simple
and serviceable machine is imperative. As the illustra-
tion shows, this motor is completely enclosed, and can be
used with safety in places where the open type of motor
would soon be damaged from dust or occasional wetting.

Particular attention is called to
the method of mounting. The
front of the motor is supported
on a cast-iron stand, rigidly fas-
tened to the bed plate of the
machine or other foundation,
with trunnions on each side of
the upper part taking through
suite bearings on the motor case,
forming a pivot for the motor
to swing on. The rear part of
the motor is supported on springs
at each side, with springs above,
held in compression by bolts
through the pedestals, which
support them, and which are also
fastened to the bed plate. The
object of this arrangement isto
provide a flexible support for
the motor, and a cushion for
the gearing when heavy loads
are thrown on the motor or the
direction of rotation is suddenly
reversed. In practice it has
been found to work admirably,
and, in addition to saving the
gears, gives the motor a notice-
able advantage in starting heavy
loads at slow speed. Where the
conditions are such that the spring suspension is not
advisable, brackets are provided on the motor for bolting
to the bed plate or foundation, rigidly.

The " reversible mill motor " when used with a suit-

Nov., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

125

able controller and current regulator makes a very de-
sirable outfit for operating cranes, turn-bridges, hoists,
bending rolls and other kinds of machinery which require
various speeds in either direction. The motors are made
in 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 horse-power sizes, and are han-
dled by the Sterling Electric Supply Company, Pacific
Coast agents, San Francisco.

eral offices of the company, and, in addition, has rented
the basement of the building, to be used as warerooms.
Many car-loads of electrical appliances of every descrip-

TIE PLATES ON ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

The street railway manager whose ties on country di-
visions are cut by rail flanges or weakened by frequent
spiking, and who has found no satisfaction or adequate
prevention of these and similar troubles, will be pleased
to learn of the remarkable success being achieved with
the Servis Tie-plate on electric lines. These simple ap-
pliances, which are used in numberless quantities on
steam roads, have only recently been introduced for serv-
ice on electric lines, but sufficient experience has already
been had to demonstrate that with these tie plates, even
under the heaviest traffic, the full life of the tie is se-
cured, viz.: cedar, twelve years and upward ; black and
red cypress, fifteen years and upward ; redwood, twenty
years and upward. Even in the busy yards of steam
roads, under constant and heaviest traffic, ties have their
period of usefulness exteuded from two to eight years
and upward, according to the quality of the timber.

As shown iu the accompanying illustration, the
Servis Tie-plate simply consists of a plate of cast iron,
ribbed on one side, and varying iu width from 3| inches
to 6 inches. The plates are_placed upon the tie with their
ribs running parallel with the grain of the wood, and
the flanges are driven into the tie when first applied, but
after short service the fibre of the tie is compressed, its
upper surface is forced down to the plane of the surface
of the tie, and a perfect union of the plate and tie thus
occurs. Marked economy, not only in the life of the tie,
but in preventing spreading of rails or widening of
gauge, in breaking ties and rails, and in breaking wheels,
occurs, in addition to which the tie plate even tends
to hold broken rails securely in place under moving
trains.

Interesting literature concerning "Proofs of Servis ' may
be obtained from C. B. Kaufman & Co., 525 Mission
street, San Francisco, Pacific coast agents for the Q. &
C. Co. of Chicago.

NEW WESTINGHOUSE OFFICE.

The San Francisco office of the Westinghouse Electric
and Manfacturing Company is moving from the sixth

Tie Plates on Electric Railways.

floor of the Mills Building to the large and commodious
suite of offices on the southeast corner of the ground
floor of the same building, which will constitute the gen-

Some Products . of the San Francisco Works of the
Washburn & Moen Mfg. Co.

tion are being stored there, and hereafter the company
will be able to furnish electric lighting, railway or trans-
mission apparatus of almost every description, together
with the usual central station supplies, without delay
from its San Francisco office on the shortest notice.

HANDLING A HEAVY CABLE.

One of the first products of the San Francisco Works
of the Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Company is the
heavy cable manufactured for the Market Street Railway
Company, and which is illustrated on page 122. This
cable is 31,000 feet in length, is of 1^ inches in diameter,
weighs, including reel and truck, 130,000 pounds, and,
as shown, required fifty-six truck horses to haul it.
Another almost equally heavy cable, 30,000 feet in length,
has recently been shipped to the Front Street Cable Rail-
way Company of Seattle, Wash.

LUNDELL DYNAMOS FOR GAS ENGINE
SERVICE.

Herewith is illustrated a modification of the well-
known Lundell generator as constructed for service in
isolated lighting when the motive power is furnished by
a. gas engine. Great improvements have been made in
the last few years in gas engines, but up to this date no gas
engine above 5-horse power has been available, it is said,
that could be relied upon to operate at uniform speed.
Iu order to provide for absolutely uniform electro-mo-
tive force, or, in other words, uniform incandescence of
electric lamps in such a plant, the Interior Conduit and
Insulator Co. has built a special generator which carries,
in addition to the belt pulley, a fly wheel of heavy rim
weight. In this fly wheel is stored up sufficient energy to
compensate for the slight inherent irregularities in the
speed of the gas engine. It will be observed that extra care
has been taken in furnishing substantial pedestals, heavy
shaft, and modern self-aligning and self-oiling bearings.
The efficiency of the dynamos is from 86 per cent, for the
small machines to 95 per cent, for the largest machines.

126

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY,

[Vol. I, No. 5.

POPULAR REFLECTIONS OF THE CONDITIONS AND

PROSPECTS OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

ON THE PACIFIC COAST.

Thus far the trolley wire, languidly drooping earthward, has ex-
ercised a nice discretion, killing only its natural enemy, the horse.
But there are many people on earth, and even a trolley wire may
be indiscreet.— San Francisco Examiner.

The evidence that trees have been killed by electricity has
been furnished by the fact that in numberless instances the trees
through which electric light wires pass died in an hour during a
storm, while those standing a few feet from the wires were un-
injured. These results will raise the question as to the liability
of electric light companies for the damage caused by the killing
of shade trees.— San Mateo (Cal.) Leader.

The great possibilities for electrical power under the Southern
California Mountain "Water Company's system is not generally
known by the people at large. Recent estimates show that, in
the 2000 feet fall of 500 inches of Pine Creek above Barrett dam,
1600 horse power can be developed, and that, in the 1600 foot fall
of 1500 inches from Cottonwood Creek, 4300 horse-power can be
developed, while between Barrett dam and the city, 2200 horse-
power can be developed.— San Diego (Cal.) Union.

Electricity is the coming power for manufacturing, transporta-
tion and lighting purposes, and the problem is how and where to
secure it best and cheapest. San Bernardino will soon want
power for electric cars and for motive power in shops and manu-
factories, and it is well to look after the supply, or, large as it is,
it may be too late to secure it advantageously when wanted.
There seems an almost inexhaustible power for the production of
electricity in our mountain streams, but it is being secured and
utilized, and when a large supply is needed for San Bernardino,
it may be too late. — San Bernardino (Cal.) Sun.

The discovery of acetylene may serve as a reminder that the
gentlemen who covered many pages of magazines and so many
columns of newspapers demonstrating the certainty of the failure
of the oil and coal fields, and bewailing the fate of the race when
this day came, were wasting their time. Electricity, the devel-
opment of water powers that electricity has made available, the
discovery of acetylene, and the probable discovery of agents even
more valuable, make it likely that coal and oil will be displaced
from use or relegated to an unimportant position long before the
supply of these products in the earth's treasuries have come to
an end. It is just as well to avoid crossing bridges before we get
to them, and we need not despair of the future of the race till the
catastrophe that may threaten it has actually come. The re-
sources of the future may not be inexhaustible, but they are be-
yond the reasoning of the finite mind. — San Francisco Chronicle.

It is quite common to hear of irrigation works being utilized for
the generation of electric power. In all parts of this State where
large dams have been constructed or are being constructed
or projected for irrigation purposes, the people are contemplating
the establishment of manufacturing plants to be operated by
electricity generated by the water power developed at the dams.
The water power at La Grange developed by the dam of the
Turlock and Modesto Irrigation district, which dam cost $650,000,
and is the highest in the world, is to be utilized in this way. A
combined power and irrigation company has recently been or-
ganized at Kaweah, and every day brings news of similar enter-
prises in other parts of the State. The effects of this union of
irrigation and electric power plants is sure to be highly beneficial
to the public. The capital invested primarily for irrigation pur-
poses will be earning interest in two directions. This will result
in making both irrigation and electric power cheaper to the con-

sumer than either would be without the other. Another good
effect will be that irrigation projects, which would not be under-
taken on account of the expense or of the small area to be accom-
modated, can be made protfiable by using the water for the
generation of electric power. We have no doubt that this will
cause the development of vast agricultural areas, which would
otherwise have remained arid and unproductive. The use of
water for irrigation and motive power will thus make deserts to
blossom as the rose, and convert dry pasture lands into rich
farming communities dotted with towns and villages, vocal witli
the hum of machinery and the songs of prosperous artisans. It
is usual to speak of Santa Cruz County as being in no need of irri-
gation. This is true, comparatively speaking. Our county is not
subject to the drouths which afflht other portions of the State.
But irrigation would pay even in Santa Cruz. A glance at the
market gardens of Chinese and Italians in this vicinity will con-
vince any observer of the truth of this proposition. There are
scores of small valleys and mesas in the county, which might be
bearing three luxuriant crops a year instead of one crop as at
present. All that is needed to treble or quadruple the productive
capacity of large Santa Cruz areas is to spread upon them some
of the liquid treasures of the mountain streams that go idly to
the sea. These streams should be utilized for irrigation and elec-
tric power. Santa Cruz should not be behind in the procession,
which is moving on towards wealth and prosperity in other parts
of the State under the combined banners of irrigation and electric
power. — Santa Cruz (Cal.) Sentinel.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Oakland, Cal. — The Electric Specialties Co. has adopted the
novel means of advertising of giving evening street lectures on
electricity.

Yokohama, Japan. — A double nozzle six-foot, 150-horse-power
Pelton wheel, to run under 120-foot head, is being installed in the
silk weaving mill.

Salt Lake City, Utah. — F. M. Ulmer is experimenting at the
Ontario mine with an electrical device designed to save quicksil-
ver and all other free metals in tailings.

Blue Lakes, Idaho. — I. B. Perrine proposes to construct a
dryer for evaporating fruit, in which electricity, presumably to
be generated at Shoshone Falls, will be used to generate heat.

Reno, Nev. — A quarterly license, ranging from $25 on corpora-
tions whose monthly receipts equal or exceed $10,000 down to $10
on corporations whose monthly receipts are between $1,000 and
$2,000, has been levied upon the water, gas and electric lighting
industries of this city.

Stockton, Cal. — The estimated steam power consumption in
this city is approximately 1750-horse-power, apportioned princi-
pally as follows: The Sperry and Crown flour mills about 450-
horse-power each, the Union Mill about 300-horse-power, and the
Gas Company about 350-horse-power, the present cost of same
being about five dollars per horse-power per month.

San Francisco, Cal.— The Electrical Engineering Company
reports the sale of two direct-connected double worm gear electric
passenger elevators, to be used in Dr. Hertzstein's office building
and hospital, and one high-speed electric elevator to be used in
the new Cliff House. This latter elevator will have a travel of

125 feet, which is the highest in the city. W. P. Freeman of

Boston proposes to establish a factory for the manufacture of rub-
ber and electrical appliances. The Safety Electric Elevator

Company has been incorporated by J. W. Gentry and others.

Capital stock, $100,000. Among the recent installations made

by the Girard Water Wheel Company are the following : A 50-
horse-power Girard wheel for the Channel Bend Mining Company
near Volcanoville, Cal., and a 200-horse-power Girard wheel for

the Ontario Electric Company of Ontario, Cal. H. A. Russell,

late manager of the Pacific Coast office of the Westinghouse Elec-
tric and Manufacturing Company, has accepted the selling agency
of the General Electric Company.

Nov., 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

127

Reports of the Jffonth,

TRdNSPORT/ITION.

LITIQflTION.

San Fhancisco, Cal. — The Superior Court has decided, in the
suit of Lucien Spencer vs. The Market Street Kail way Company
for $25,000 damages for personal injuries, that a street railway
company is not liahle for injuries sustained by a person who has
been pushed off a car by some one other than an employee.

Spokane, Wash. —Judge Moore has decided that the original
franchise of the Union Light and Power Company has expired
by reason of failure to begin operations in good faith within the
time specified, or within a reasonable length of time. An in-
junction preventing the Chief of Police from removing poles that
have been erected was therefore denied.

Sacramento, Cat,.— The Western Electric Company lias brought
suit in the United States Circuit Court against the Capital Tele-
phone and Telegraph Company for alleged infringement of Leroy
B. Firman's patent No. 252,576, dated Januaiy 17, 1882, on mul-
tiple switchboards, and on the Watson patent, No. 270,582, of Jan-
uary 9th, 1883. Judge Catlin, of the Superior Court, has issued

a peremptory writ of mandate commanding the Central Electric
Railway to sell and supply to E. W. Hale et al., petitioners, such
school passes as the petitioners may require to furnish its cus-
tomers. This the railway company had refused to do because of
a contract previously entered into with another business firm, as
a result of which Hale Bros. & Co. were prevented from receiv-
ing such passes. Allen L. Clare has sued the Sacramento

Power & Light Co. for $50,150 damages and costs for personal in-
juries alleged to have been received from a charged guy wire.

<10nn<MK/lTION.

Stockton, Cal. — The Gamewell Co. has sold to thecity twelve
Standard Gardner boxes, and three 15 inch combined gongs and
indicators.

Los Angeles, Cal. — The Board of Public Works has recom-
mended that the' bids of Herman de Laguna for $333.00 for a tele-
phone franchise be accepted.

Tulare, Cal. — Seven Excelsior Gamewell boxes, together with
a tower-bell and other Game-well apparatus, constitute the new
fire-alarm system recently installed.

Santa Barbara, Cal. — The fire-alarm system has been in-
creased by the addition of eight non-interfering Gamewell boxes,
one bell-striker, one combined gong and indicator, and four miles
of circuit, all of the Gamewell system.

Eureka, Cal.— The John Vance Mill and Lumber Company
has secured the privilege of laying and maintaining a submarine
telephone cable from Eureka to the Samoa Mill, via Woodley and
the Gunther Islands, across the intervening channel.

San Jose, Cal. — The People's Telephone and Telegraph Com-
pany has been incorporated for the purpose of building a tele-
phone system in this city, to work in conjunction with the out-
side lines of of the California Telephone and Construction Com-
pany.

Portland, Or. — The Oregon Electrical Construction Company
has been incorporated to build and operate telephone and tele-
graph lines and branch lines between Portland and Astoria. Cap-
ital, $20,000; incorporators, G. F. Huesner, F. C. Miller and J.
S. Urquhart.

Tucson, Ariz. — Chas. F. Hoff proposes to install a telephone
system at Nogales and Tucson this winter, and will endeavor to
connect Phcenix with Prescott and later extend to Flagstaff, after
which he will work the other way, from Tucson to Oracle, thence
to Mammoth, Florence and Mesa, making a continuous line from
Nogales to Flagstaff.

Phoenix, Ariz.— The Five Points Street Railway Company pro-
poses to substitute electric for mule power, and to extend its sys-
tem to Alhambra and Glendale.

San Jose, Cal —The Board of Trade has pledged itself to use
its best endeavors to raise $50,000 towards the construction of the
San Jose and Saratoga Electric road.

Santa Cruz, Cal.— The Electric Railway Company denies the
report that it will install a power plant, as it is under contract to
buy power from the El' ctric Light Company until next Sep-
tember.

Vancouver, Wash.— An electric road to cost $200,000 is pro-
jected to run from this city through Fruit Valley to some point
on Vancouver Lake or. Salmon Creek.

Stockon, Cal.— James A. Louttit states that work on "the
Stockton and Lodi Terminal Railway will probably be resumed
soon, and that the change in the proposed motive power from
steam to electricity is contemplated.

Sacramento, Cal. — The Chamber of Commerce has appointed
a committee to call on the contestants along the line of the pro-
posed Orangevale and Sunset Colony Electric Railroad, and en-
deavor to remove the temporary obstacles in the way of at once
starting the work.

Santa Monica, Cal.— The Pasadena and Pacific Electric Railway
Company proposes to build a branch line on Oregon Avenue, from

Ocean Avenue to Twenty-seventh street. The first section of

the Los Angeles and Pacific Electric Road is completed to the
Junction, and is in operation.

Oakland, Cal. — The San Pablo Avenue Cable Line is to be
changed to an electric system next year, when it will be extended
from Emeryville along San Pablo avenue to West Berkeley, with
a loop from the main line to the present terminus of the Tele-
graph avenue system at the University. Power will be taken
from the Temescal power-house.

Seattle, Wash. — The Front Street Cable Railway Company
has received from Washburn & Moen a l>8-inch cable 30,000 feet
in length. This cable was made in San Francisco, and was shipped
by rail, as it was too heavy to handle by water. L. H. Grif-
fith, of this city, left for Central America October 30th, where he
expects to build an electric railway.

Santa Barbara, Cal. — The first spike in the new line of the
Santa Barbara Consolidated Electric Railway system was driven

by Mr. A. Hope-Doeg on October 11th The Consolidated Co.

has completed arrangements to erect its power-house in Summer-
land, and will place therein a 500-horse-power engine and boiler,
and two 75-horse-power generators.

Los Angeles, Cal. — W. D. Larrabee has been granted a special
franchise to construct and operate an electric road for a period of
twenty-three months, from Fair Oaks Avenue, on Pasadena street,

to the Mountain View Cemetery, with two branches. Among

improvements contemp'ated by the Los Angeles Consolidated
Railway Company are the equipping of the Boyle Heights, East
Side, AVest Lake and Grand Avenue Cable Lines with electricity,
and the converting of the Central Avenue Cable engine-house in-
to an electric power-house. A 1000 horse-power engine has been
ordered for the latter, and bids are out for a 1200 horse-power en-
gine for the same place. The company is employing about 600

men, 400 of which operate the cars, etc. The Boyle Heights

and West Side Park branches of the Los Angeles Railway Com-
pany will be in operation by December. A bond has been filed

by W. S. Hook in the sum of $10,000 for the faithful carrying out
of the franchise granted him by the Council for the building of
an electric street railway from the intersection of Freeman and
Bush streets, southwest on Bush to Hoover, thence south on
Hoover to Forrester Avenue.

128

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

TR/JN5MIS5I0N.

Mesa, Arizona. — Contractor Van Slyke of Phienix is to build
the Consolidated Company's new power house.

Los Angeles, Cal. — Ordinance No. 3151 has been passed, grant-
ing W. S. Hook, Manager, a street railway franchise.

Newcastle, Cal.— The pole line of the South Yuba Electric Co.
is being erected between Newcastle and Roseville, and will reach
Sacramento before New Year.

Lemooke, Cal.— The West Side Land and Canal Co. proposes to
irrigate lands on the west side of Kings River, raising the water
from wells by means of electric pumping plants.

Vancouver, B. C— F. S. Barnard has notified the City Council
that he has procured sufficient English capital to install a trans-
mission plant for operating the street railway and lighting sys-
tems.

Tuolumne County, Cal. — The Rawhide mine has ordered a
500-horse-power three-phase G. E. transmission p.ant, the dis-
tance of transmission being ten miles, and the generators to be
direct driven from Pelton wheels.

Sonora, Cal.— P. J. Sullivan, Secretary of the Buchanan Min-
ing Company, states that the company will build the dam in
Hunter Canon, from which ample power will be derived to oper-
ate the Buchanan and Hunter mines by electric power.

City of Mexico, Mexico. — Ramon Sanchez has ordered a 600
horse-power three-phase transmission plant to be direct driven
from Pelton wheels to operate his paper-mills. The order was
placed through S. C. Peck of the International Thomson-Houston
Company.

Logan, Utah. — T. A. Davis, promoter of the Hercules Electric
Light Co., together with P. M. Munn & Eldon P. Bacon, electri-
cal engineers, formerly of Telluride, Colorado, are about to com-
mence work on the plan, which proposes to transmit 1000 electrical
horse-power from the water-power of Logan Canon, three miles
distant.

San Francisco, Cal. — The new electric lines on Ellis, O'Far-
rell, Devisadero, Fillmore, Turk, Eddy and Page streets are now

in regular operation. A force of 2000 men were put at work on

the Ingleside extension on November 1st in order that the elec-
tric road might be completed to the new race track by Thanks-
giving Day.

Sacramento, Cal. — The Central California Electric Light and
Power Co. (The North Yuba Canal Co.) has been awarded the
county franchise for erecting a transmission line along the county
highways, between the Placer County line near Antelope and

the city limits. The Bee expresses the belief that friendly

relations exist between the Central California Electric Co. and
the Capital Gas Co., and that, if the former does not desire
to retail electric light and power, its output will probably be ac-
quired by the Capital Gas Co.

Fresno, Cal. — Work on the thirty -five mile transmission plant
of the San Joaquin Electric Company is progressing satisfactorily.
The canal and flume are completed, the reservoir is well under
way, andfive carloads of copper wire is being strung. The Fresno
sub-station is being erected near the corner of O and Fresno
streets. The San Joaquin Electric Co., which will undoubt-
edly be in operation by February 1st, has thus far arranged to
supply power to the Mandary Planing Mill, the Fresno Agricul-
tural Works, the Sperry Flour Mills and the City Water Works.

Angels, Cal. — Geo. W. McNear proposes to build a dam about
three miles below Bostwick Bar to develop about 2000 horse-
power of electric power for operating mines in this vicinity. The
Stanislaus River at the site of the dam is 155 feet wide and con-
fined by cliffs 300 feet high, and 40,000 miner's inches of water
have been located. Henry L. Smith is to be in charge of the en-
gineering. Newspapers report that the TJtica mines have

contracted for a large electric plant to furnish 1000 horse-power
for running the company's mills. The water wheels will be run
under a head of nearly 1700 feet, and the scheme involves a trans-
mission of eight miles from Murphy's Canon to Angels.

Stockton, Cal. — The Blue Lake Water Company is maturing
plans for installing an electric transmission from the Blue Lake
region down the Mokelumne River to Wallace, and from there on
to this place. Near the Big Bar bridge of the Mokelumne River
a fall of 1043 feet can be developed, which is said to be capable of ■
generating 50,030 horse-power. At the present, the company is
taking water from its reservoirs, which is used for mining pur-
poses, and, it is stated, that there is sufficient water power now
going to waste to generate 8000 horse-power. It is believed that
at least 2000 horse-power can be used in this city from the outset,
and work will be commenced as soon as sufficient power has been

contracted for to pay a reasonable return on the investment.

Still another project for transmitting electric power to this city
has been started, the latest scheme being to utilize the water of
the Salt Spring Valley reservoir, twenty-four miles distant. It is

said that 7000 horse-power can be delivered. Sidney Newell,

Jr., is exploiting an electric transmission project to use the water
power of the Blue Lakes, forty miles distant. The installation of
two 1000-kilowatt alternators is proposed at an estimated cost of
$164,336, exclusive of buildings, water-wheel plant, water develop-
ments or local distributing circuits. This project is entirely dis-
tinct from the original Blue Lakes scheme that has long been be-
fore the public. The transmission of 2000 horse-power from

Mokelumne Hill is talked of.

ILHiniN/lTION.

Tacoma, Wash. — Since the reduction in rates the business of
the city lighting plant has been increased to the fullest capacity
of the plant, which is 5000 incandescents and 750 arc lamps.

San Bernardino, Cal. — The Trustees have advertised for bids
for from 60 to 100 arc lights, to_ be furnished for one year from
December 15th, and all bids to be in by noon, December 5th.

Cathlamet, Wash. — Will Smith expects to put in an electric

light plant, to be operated by water power from Birney Creek.

The Clifton Cannery has been fitted up with an electric light
plant.

San Pedro, Cal. — J. E. Tult and Charles C. Glass have applied

for an electric lighting franchise The Long Beach Electric

Light Co., having secured the city lighting franchise, has ordered
a Corliss engine and dynamo.

Oakdale, Cal. — L. P. Drexler, of San Francisco, is interested
in a project to establish a light and power plant for this place, to
be operated by water power taken from the flume across the
Stanislaus River, sixty miles above.

Missoula, Mont. — H. M. Byllesby, President of the Missoula
Electric Light and Power Company, has arranged with the Bon-
ner Company for improved facilities with which to operate the
plant, and the work of installation is progressing rapidly.

Modesto, Cal. — The Modesto Gas Company has secured the
co tract for street lighting for one year from December 1st at the
rate of $3 per 50-candle-power lamp per month, moonlight sched-
ule, and $4.50 per 50-candle-power lamp per month, all night
schedule.

Sonora, Cal. — The Grant Bannister Company has bought the
electric lighting plant of the Sonora Electric Light Company,
which will be enlarged by the addition of a 200-kilowatt three-
phase generator, and will be moved about four miles out of town,
where water power is available.

Sacramento, Cal. — The South Yuba Co. has been granted the
privilege to erect poles for its proposed transmission lines in

Sacramento County. The annual contract for lighting the city

has been awarded to the Sacramento Electric Power & Light Co.
for $8.75 per lamp per month. The former rate was $14.95 per
month.

Nov., 1895.]

THK JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

129

Minas Prietas, Ariz. — Thomas Douglas, of Pan Francisco, lias
been appointed electrician of theMinas Prietas mills, mines and
telephone lines.

Montesano, Wash. — Albert Daub is to light the city for two
years in return for electrical supplies valued at $741, which the
city has on hand.

Cottage Grove, Or. — Mr. Anderson is putting in a plant for
city lighting in a building adjoining Stone's mill, from which
power will be taken.

Anaconda, Most. — New water wheels, dynamos, and other
equipments are to be placed in the plant of the Anaconda Light
and Power Company.

Aberdeen-, Wash. — E. B. Benn and C. R. Green have leased
the Electric light plant for one year, and will inaugurate needed
changes in the system.

Sax Leaxdro, Cal. — A special election will be held on Decem-
ber 16th for the purpose of incurring an indebtedness of $10,000
for an electric light plant.

Bingham, Utah. — 0. B. Hardy and W. J. Moorhead have re-
ceived an electric franchise for operating a light and power plant
in the West Mountain Mining district.

Redwood City, Cal. — J. George Gardner is installing an elec-
tric lighting plant here, and proposes to extend lighting cir-
cuits to Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Woodside.

Eureka, Cal. — The National Incandescent Lighting dynamo
formerly used on the Steamer Humboldt has been taken from
the wreck of that vessel and will be installed on the steamer Na-
tional City.

Salt Lake, Utah. — The Gas and Electric Light Company pro-
poses to erect a business block on State street in which will be
located its offices and the distributing station for the Big Cotton-
wood plant.

Redwood City, Cal. — Chas. Jones has placed an isolated light-
ing plant in his residence, consisting of a 5-kilowatt Westing-
house multipolar dynamo direct, driven from a small Pelton
water-wheel, operating under 500-foot head.

Riverside, Cal.— The Redlands Electric Light and Power Co.
have contracted to furnish the city with 200 horse-power of elec-
tricity for ten years at $36 per horse-power per year for continu-
ous service, and the amount of power to be increased to 600
horse-power when the city may desire it.

Nevada City, Cal.— K. Casper proposes to supplement the
present 1000-light Heisler incandescent system with a 200-kilo-
watt polyphase generator for delivering light and power. The
services of W. Stuart-Smith and Sidney Sprout have been re-
tained as consulting and supervising engineers.

Oakland, Cal.— The Oakland Light and Motor Co. has elected
the following officers for the coming year: Thomas Addison,
president ; W. S. Harlow, vice-president ; Edward Barry, secre-
tary. The board of directors consists of Thomas Addison, F. F.
Barbour. W. S. Harlow, W. L. Prather and Edward Barry ; super-
intendent, R. P. Valentine.

Stock rox, Cal.— The Stockton Gas, Light and Heat Company
proposes to place a large gas engine in its electric light plant, in
view of which it has entered into a contract with Jerome Haas
to sink a well for natural gas at the corner of Ninth and Hunter
streets. The Stockton Gas and Electric Co. contemplates man-
ufacturing ice.

San Francisco, Cal.— The Pan Handle of Golden Gate Park
has been lighted by arc lamps, as the result of the regent agita-
tion on the subject. The newspapers state that an agreement

has been reached between the San Francisco Gas Light Company
and the Edison Light and Power Company, by which there are
to be no more hostilities at present.

Salt Lake City, Utah. — The Salt Lake and Ogden Company
has materially enlarged its plant by the addition of new dynamos
and machinery preparatory to meeting the competition of the
Citizens' Electric Light Company. The incandescent installa-
tion in the Silver King Mine has been completed. A. V. Officer
has been appointed superintendent of the Citizens' Electric Light

Company. A rate war is in progress between the Citizens'

Company and the Salt Lake and Ogden Company, as a result of
which arc lights have been put in at $2.50, where they formerly
brought $10 50.

San Francisco, Cal. — The John M. Klein's Electrical Works
has succeeded W. J. O'Connor to the Pacific Coast agency for the

Sunbeam Incandescent Lamp Co. The Mutual Electric Light

Company has enlarged its plant by the addition of a 60-kilowatt

Westinghouse alternator. The contract for the steam and

electric plant of the Parrott building has been awarded to the
Union Iron Works, which will install six 100-kilowatt andtwo 30-
kilowatt, 110 volt generators, each direct connected to a triple
expansion marine type engine. Internal fired boilers are to be
used, and the plant, which is to be run condensing, is to be wired
for 320 constant potential arcs, 5000 incandescent and 15 Sprague-
Pratt elevator equipments.

San Jose, Cal. — An understanding between the Electric Im-
provement Company and the San Jose Light and Power Company
is believed to have been effected, though it is denied by the offi-
cials. The Board of Trade has passed a strong resolution favor-
ing municipal ownership of an electric lighting plant, and City
Attorney W. B. Hardy has rendered an opinion to the Mayor and
Common Council to the effect that the City has full power to reg-
ulate the price of artificial light. The reports of combination
between the two lighting companies seem to be confirmed by the
fact that the price for arc lamps has been increased fifty cents per
week .

Alameda, Cal. — It is proposed to add a 350-horse-power com-
pound condensing Corliss engine and boilers, and a 2500-light

alternator to the municipal lighting plant. Al V. Fisher has

been appointed assistant engineer and collector of the city light-
ing plant. The City Trustees have about concluded to take

down the electric light masts. Expert J. A. Sansome has ren-
dered a report showing that the cost of operating the city electric
light plant for five years ending March 31, 1895, to be $64,045.67,
or $12,809.13 per year. The construction per year is $3,000, the
maintenance per year $9,743; the cost per lamp for 90 lamps, per
year, is $105.25, and the cost per lamp, per month, is $8.25.

Los Angeles, Cal. — W. B. Carter will place an electric light
plant in the $15,000 resort he proposes to erect at the lake in

Echo Park. The City Electric Power and Lighting Company

proposes to furnish all city buildings with electric light free of
charge, provided a special electric light franchise be granted it.
The Board of Supervisors has amended the license ordinance so
that a tax of $15 per month shall be imposed on gas companies,
while the tax on electric lighting companies fhall be graduated
as follows: Plants operating less than 500 lights, $2 per month ;
between 500 and 1000 lights, $10 per month; over 1000 lights, $15

per month. F.N. Meyers has been elected President of the

City Electric Power and Lighting Co.

Seattle, Wash. — A. L. Hawley, assistant manager, and J. I.
Robinson, secretary of the Union Illuminating Company, have

resigned, to take effect November 1st. The combination that

has been in existence for many months between the Union Elec-
tric Company and the Seattle Gas and Electric Light Company,
which has been operating as the Union Illuminating Company,
has been dissolved, and its component members are again in

active competition. F. H. Osgood, A. L. Hawley and J. T.

Robinson have submitted a tender to build the city a lighting
plant, with poles or conduits, supplying everything for 665 incan-
descent 15-candle-power lights, and 81 arcs of 2000-candle-power
at $7.25 per month for the latter, and $1 per month for the incan-
descent. The city is to purchase the plant in three years.

130

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 5.

^lUHlVE^SAIi

Incandescent Lamp

-h: jPls-

FEW EQUALS
NO

In Life
Efficiency or
Maintenance of
Candle Power

In Points of
General — -^
Superiority and
Beauty^8^

We are always happy to make
Quotations, for our Prices if Prompt-
ness in Shipment Insure Further
Orders. Remember, too, that we
carry a full line of Electric Railway
Equipments.

[Jgir See Advertisement Opposite Page vi.

J. W. BROOKS & CO.

120 Sutter Street = San Francisco, Cal.

THE JOUHNAIi OF MGTRIGITY.

Vol. I.

DECEMBER, 1895.

No. 6.

£omo ^osts of QfliT (Compressors.

By A. E. Chodzko, M. E.

Edward A. Rh- P. E.

HE recent tests
made by the military
authorities on the
dynamite guns at
Fort Point, San Fran-
cisco, may lend some
interest to a few par-
ticulars regarding air
compressing plants,
which form the vital
element of this install-
ation.

The contract for the
construction of the
mechanical part of it,
with the exception of
the guns and their
immediate fixtures,
was awarded by the

Pueumatic Torpedo and Construction Company of New

York, and to the Fulton Engineering and Ship Building

Works of San Francisco, upon the plans and special

designs of Mr. E. A. Eix, P. E., who

supervised the construction of the plant.
The compression of air is made in

three stages, from the atmosphere to the

working pressure of 2,000 lbs. effective

per square inch. It is performed in two

sets of horizontal engines, to both of

which the subsequent description ap-
plies, they being in all respects entirely

alike. The steam is supplied by four

boilers, of the horizontal tubular type,

of 750 horse-power capacity, arranged

to work either with natural or with

forced draught. As will be seen in the

annexed outline cut ( Figure 3 ), two

steam cylinders connected to the same

shaft by cranks at an angle of 145

degrees from each other, each actuate

two air cylinders in tandem, that is,

through their piston tail rods, there

being on one side one low pressure and

the intermediate or second stage cylinder,

and on the other side one low pressure and the high

pressure or finishing cylinder. This duplex set therefore

comprises two steam cylinders (Figure 4), operating two

Copyrighted 1895, by Geo. P

intake cylinders (Figure 5), wherein the atmospheric air
is compressed to about seventy-five lbs. eflective, to-
gether with one intermediate cylinder (Figure 6), in-
creasing the air pressure from seventy-five to about 400
lbs. effective, and one high pressure cylinder (Figure 7),
which takes the air at 400 lbs. and compresses it to 2,000
lbs. effective. The intake or low pressure cylinders are
double acting, that is, they have inlet and discharge
valves at each end, while the intermediate and high
pressure cylinders are single acting, that is, provided
with valves at one end only, their pistons being plunger
rams with spherical heads, connected to the tail rods of
the intake cylinders.

The special purpose which these compressors have to
serve made their design and construction subservient to
conditions at entire variance with the lines upon which
an air compressing plant is usually established. The
main object of the designer, when a large power is to be
used, as in the case of the Fort Point installation, is
commonly to secure the greatest possible economy in the
production of the compressed air. In the present in-
stance compound condensing engines of the most ap-

FlGUEE

1 — A General View of the Rix Air Compressor Plant.

proved type, and air cylinders working at a moderate
linear piston speed, would present themselves to the
mind as advisable. Such engines would be established

Low. All Eights Reserved.

132

THE JOURNAL OE ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 6.

in view of a regular working speed, or approximately
so, and everything would be provided to give the eco-
nomical appliances a chance to work to their full ad-
vantage. At Fort Point the primary requirement was
to have a plant as little liable as possible to getting out
of order. Solidity, simplicity and endurance were there-
fore the main points to be considered, economy being a
desirable but decidedly an accessory feature. Upon

of nests of copper pipes extending under the floor in
cemented trenches, where a stream of cold water is con-
stantly running. The proportions of these intercoolers
have purposely been made very ample, and their effect-
iveness is fully demonstrated by the low temperature of
the air before it enters the intermediate and the high
pressure cylinders, which are given hereafter. A similar
cooler is provided for the air at working pressure after

Figure 2— Elevation of the Rix Three-Stage Compressors for 2,000 lbs. Pressure.

these general lines, supplemented by conditions of ca-
pacity within a given time, of efficiency in the means of
cooling the air and of practical effectiveness of several
important parts, the present plant was designed, built
and erected. The steam engines are non-condensing
and each cylinder acts independently, that is, no com-
pounding has been adopted. The valves are provided
with Meyers' cut-off, regulated by hand, the governors
merely acting on the throttle in case of racing. The
cranks are set at the angle heretofore indicated, in order
that the machine may be balanced as nearly as possible
and yet the engines be able to start in any position.

In the air cylinders the greatest care has been used to
secure a cooling efficiency as high as possible. The
heads and the barrels of the cylinders are water-jacketed,

it leaves the high pressure cylinder and before reaching
the twenty-four forged steel storage tubes which, through
a complete system of pipes and manifolds, and also a
compact arrangement of valves, can be set in communica-
tion with each particular gun, or if so desired, with a
supplementary storage supply located iu the foundation
of the guns.

That the demand upon the compressors may vary dur-
ing action within widely distinct limits was exemplified
by the fact that while 360 feet per minute is generally
considered as a limit of piston velocity in water-jacketed
cylinders, this velocity has been, duriug part of the
trials, carried to 563 feet, or an excess of fifty-eight per
cent. At this high rate of speed no undue heatiug
could be observed in the moving parts, and the absence

Figure 3— Ground Plan of Rix Three-Stage Compressors for 2,000 lbs. Pressure.

the water discharge pipes from the jackets being in full
view and easily accessible, and the supply of cooling
water being regulated according to its temperature at
the discharge.

A very elaborate and effective system of intercoolers
has been established between the intake and inter-
mediate cylinders, and also between the intermediate
and high pressure cylinders. These intercoolers consist

of jarring and of trepidations was the best evidence of
the remarkable strength and steadiness of the plant. Of
course when working at high speed, no claim is nor could
be entertained to maintaining a satisfactory cooling effi-
ciency in each individual cylinder. As before stated,
the intercoolers are of sufficient size to deal with the
heat liberated during the compression even at high speed.
But when the period of compression and of course the

Dec, 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

!33

period of effective possible cooling, lasts two-fifteenths of
a second, the heat units passing through the cylinder
walls during that time cannot be expected to be many.
It might be argued that the Riedler compressors in Paris
work at a nominal.piston velocity of 550 feet, and occa-

interesting evidence of the effectiveness of the inter-
coolers and of the regularity of the temperature of air
at its entrance to each cylinder. For a range of final
pressures comprised between 800 and 2,000 lbs. effective,
the variation of temperature was only eight degrees
Fahrenheit for the intermediate, and three
degrees Fahrenheit for the high pressure
cylinder, the temperature of the engine room
being seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit.

Fahrenheit Temperature at

Gauge Pressure
Lbs. pes Square Inch

Entrance to

L.P. Cyls.

LP. Cyls.

H. P. Cyls.

800

71

67

66

900

71

68

67

1000

71

69

67

1100

71

69

67

1200

71

70

68

1300

71

70

68

1400

71

71

68

1500

71

72

68

1600

71

72

68

1700

71

74

69

1800

71

74

69

1900

71

73

69

2000

71

72

69

Figdre 4— Meyers' Cut-off Engine, Operating Rix Compressors.

sionally 733 feet per minute, but aside from the fact that
the use of a spray for cooling and of mechanically moved
valves are both combined to reduce the rise of tempera-
ture, the pressures in the two-stage Riedler compressor
are considerably lower, the air being sent into the mains
at only 118 lbs. gauge per square inch, an insignificant
pressure as compared to 2,000 lbs. per square inch.

Another point of interest in the Fort
Point plant is the absence of leakage at
the stuffing boxes of the intermediate and
high pressure rams. This point has been
the cause of much annoyance in similar
plants built elsewhere, and the present ar-
rangement is the outcome of long and
costly experiments. The friction in a run-
ning joint capable of holding 2,000 lbs of
air pressure against the atmospheric, is
necessarily enormous, and after the nature,
the shape and the size of the packing had
been determined upon, it became necessary
to keep the packing sufficiently cool to pre-
vent its rapid wear. This is effected by a
special circulation of cold water inside the
rams, the arrangement being quite apparent
on the general plan, and that it is success-
fully effected can be easily ascertained.
This water circulation also partly con-
tributes to cooling the air under compres-
sion. At the nominal rate of speed of about 400 feet
per minute of piston velocity, the compressors supply to
the storage tubes 460 cubic feet of air per hour at 2,000
lbs. gauge. The annexed abstract from trials made in

The discharge temperature of the low pres-
sure cylinders gradually increased and then
remained stationery at 320 degrees Fahren-
heit. The intermediate cylinder discharge
likewise attained a temperature of 292 degrees Fahren-
heit, and the high pressure cylinder, beginning at 375 lbs.
per square inch and at a temperature of sixty-six degrees
Fahrenheit delivered from the intercoolers, gradually
rose in temperature as the pressure increased until it
reached 2,000 lbs., and after running at that pressure
for one hour the thermometer indicated its maximum,

view of timing the 'production of the compressors gives

Figure 5 — One of the tivo Initial Air Cylinders of the Rix Compressors.'.

viz., 358 degrees Fahrenheit. The sum total of those
temperatures, viz., 970 degrees, as compared to the
adiabatic temperature of single-stage compression to
2,000 lbs., which is 1762 degrees Fahrenheit, indicate
the work saved by the three-stage method of compres-

134

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 6.

sion combined with the jacket and ram cooling devices.
The compression throughout the whole range was prac-
tically regular, being on an average 115.1 lbs. for each
500 revolutions of both machines.

The mean of many cards taken from the steam cylin-
ders, which is reproduced in Figure 10,
showed that each compressor absorbed
342.61 i.h.p., while the cards from the
three air cylinders showed 293.78 i.h.p.
for each compressor. The work then
absorbed by the friction, inertia, etc.,
was 48.83 i.h.p., or 14.2% of the in-
dicated power employed, showing a
mechanical efficiency for the compressor
of 85.8%, which is high, especially in
view of the facts that the engines were
new and consequently stiff to some ex-
tent, and also that some extra friction
is developed at the ram stuffing boxes as
compared with a compressor working at
the usual air pressures.

The resisting load of 48.83 h.p., while
the compressors were doing full duty,
may be compared with the friction load
on the machine without air pressure,
and an interesting result obtained. Cards
taken showed that this friction load was 32.4 h.p.,
being .663 of the resisting work under load and showing
an increase of 50.7% in the resistances between no load
and full load. The combined indicator cards illustrated
herewith (Figure 10), are plotted from actual cards and
show a saving of 36.8% over adiabatic single-stage
compression.

The boilers for this plant are of the return tubular

150 lbs. to the square inch, and fully satisfied the re-
quirements of the Treasury Department. The forced
draught was employed because it was not considered
desirable to continue the stacks above the roof and thus
give an opportunity for invading forces to discover the

Figure 7 — The High Pressure Ram of the Rix Compressors.

type and manufactured by the Chandler & Taylor Com-
pany of Indianapolis, Ind. They are seventy-two inches
in diameter by sixteen feet long, and of a nominal h.p.
of 500, which was increased by the forced draught em-
ployed to about 750 h.p. These boilers were tested to

Figure 6 — The Intermediate Ram of the Rix Compressors.

position of the plant. A short stack, about fifteen feet
in length, was therefore erected. The forced draught is
instituted by two Sturtevant fans, with engines attached,
having cylinders three inches in diameter by a three and
a half-inch stroke. These fans each deliver 12,000 cubic
feet per minute of free air through a twenty-two-inch
main, which, passing underneath the. battery of four
boilers, is connected to each by a ten-inch outlet under-
neath the grate bars. It was found dur-
ing the test that these fans need be run
only to about 60% of their capacity.
The engines exhaust their steam into
two National heaters of 300 h.p. each,
which furnished feed water to the boilers,
at a temperature of 200 degrees Fahren-
heit.

The feed pumps are of the Deane type,
being duplex and two in number; the
steam cylinders being six inches, the
water cylinders being four inches and
the stroke being six inches. At a slow
piston speed these pumps furnished all
the necessary water, which was drawn
from the pits after being heated by the
air from the compressors. As an auxil-
liary there are installed alongside of the
feed pumps two Nathan injectors of 300
h.p. each, which are amply sufficient to
furnish all]of the water necessary to feed
During the test for rapidity of firing, while

the boilers.

the plant was supposed to be strained to its utmost, the
firemen had ample time to observe the operation of the
compressor plant, showing that the boilers were more
than sufficient to supply the steam necessary for the,

Dec, 1895.]

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

J35

proper operation of the compressors. The electrical
equipment of the installation, which was furnished by
the Electrical Engineering Company of San Francisco,
consists of one thirty-five k.w. compound wound dynamo,
shown in Figure 3, and capable of being worked up to

Figure 8 — The 35 Kilowatt Generator, manufactured by the ]
Electrical Engineering Company of San Francisco.

25% in excess on its rated capacity for
thirty minutes without undue heating.
This dynamo, which is driven by a fifty
h.p. Armington & Sims' engine (Figure
9), operates about forty lights in the
power house and furnishes the current
necessary for operating the electric mo-
tors by which the guns are handled. A
substantial switchboard, consisting of
slate slabs bolted to an iron frame, has
been erected immediately back of the
dynamo, and on which are placed the
necessary fuse blocks, Weston instru-
ments and three 300 ampere main line
switches. From the switchboard about
800 feet of lead-covered concentric cable
is run through an underground conduit
in separate circuits to the motors operat-
ing the three guns.

The compressed air, after leaving the
compressors and being confined in the
storage tanks, is distributed to the three guns independ-
ently, through a manifold of bronze, having attached
five gauges, two registering 2,000 lbs. and three register-
ing 1,250 lbs., all so arranged with valves that any or
all of the guns could be operated at once. This air is

carried to the underground storage reservoirs of the
guns, through a pipe having an outside diameter of 2^
inches and inside diameter of If inches, and duly tested
to 3,500 lbs. to the square inch for tightness. From the
guns to these manifolds there are also three copper pipes,
each J inch inside diameter by ^ inch outside diameter,
to register the pressures at the manifolds that are con-
tained in the carriages of the guns. This is in general
the description of the air compressing plant.

We now come to speak of the guns themselves, which
were manufactured at the West Point foundry on the
Hudson, each fifteen inches in diameter with a length of
fifty feet. Each gun is perfectly balanced on its carriage,
weighing about seventy tons, which is in turn mounted
upon concrete foundations. The tests of these guns for
their mechanical efficiency, which may be called their
ease of operation, showed that they could be traversed
by the electric motors which were situated in the gun
carriage, in an average of one minute throughout the
entire 360 degrees, and they could be changed from
extreme elevation to extreme depression in from eight to
eleven seconds. Any one familiar with the length of
time necessary to operate ordinary powder guns by
hand, will appreciate the fact that this facility of opera-
tioa is marvelous.

For testing these guns for mechanical efficiency the
requirements were, first, that forty-five shots should be
fired in the first hour and thirty shots in the hour suc-
ceeding. Inasmuch as the wastage of air would be the
same whether actual projectiles were fired or whether
the air was simply wasted through the muzzle of the
gun in " air shots," no projectiles were fired in this test,
and it was found for the first hour that forty-five shots
were fired, and the compressors running at their normal

Figuke 9— Armington &ZSims' Engine, driving the "Double E" Co.'s Dynamo.

speed registered a final pressure of 1,800 lbs.; it being
thus demonstrated that the compressors were amply suf-
ficient to maintain any requirements which might be
placed upon the gun. Twenty air shots were fired to
ascertain the utmost rapidity with which the guns could

136

THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY.

[Vol. I, No. 6.

be discharged, and the same were discharged in seven
and one-half minutes, though the contract did not re-
quire that these shots should be discharged iuside of
thirty minutes ; it being thus demonstrated that the
compressors and the guns were amply capable to main-
tain the test required by the government.

The test for rapidity of firing with actual projectiles
next took place. The projectiles used were pieces of gas
pipe twelve inches in diameter and eight feet long,
loaded wich sand. The weight was 1,040 lbs. Each
one of the three guns was required to fire five of these
projectiles in twenty minutes.
The test developed the fact that
these projectiles were all dis-
charged from each gun within
eight and one-half minutes, and
they were by far the most inter-
esting feature of the whole test.

Having no means for main-
taining the accuracy of their
flight, these projectiles were
nevertheless thrown for the first
one-half distance of their flight
with precision, that is, they
maintained the position of a
well-directed projectile, after
which they tumbled end over
end and fell into the sea. With-
out any plain table measure-
ments being taken upon them,
they apparently fell quite ac-
curately within a small target.
The time of flight of these pro-
jectiles averaged about nineteen
seconds for about 2,200 yards.

The questions of rapidity of
firing and of loading having
been determined, the next test
was one of accuracy, and the
live projectiles were discharged
from these guns at a distance of
5,000 yards. The projectiles
used were of the eight-inch
caliber, the difference in dia-
meter being made up by woodcu
pistons in four sections, so that
the wooden pieces would fly off
after the projectiles had left the
gun, leaving it clear to make its flight. The first pro-
jectile flew 5,000 yards and exploded ; the second
projectile flew 5,070 yards and exploded; the third
projectile flew 5,015 yards and exploded; the fourth pro-
jectile flew 5,040 yards and exploded; all of these
projectiles being plotted on a plane table in a rectangle
seventy yards long by twenty yards wide ; the time of
flight being about twenty-seven and one-half seconds.

As a matter of experiment, two shots were fired into
the hills of Marin connty at a distance of 3,550 yards,
each with the eight-inch sub-caliber shell, loaded with
100 lbs. of dynamite, the first shot being fired five days

previous to the second shot. The shots struck within
forty-five yards of each other, and exploded in a per-
fectly satisfactory manner, in fact the pits caused by
the explosion joined each other. The larger shells, viz.:
the fifteen-inch full caliber projectiles, being eleven feet
long and weighing some 1,050 lbs., loaded with 500 lbs.
of nitro-gelatine, were thrown into the sea at a range of
an average of 2,100 yards. They exploded practically
upon strikiug the water, throwing into the air a column
of water about 100 feet in diameter at the base, and,
from the levels taken at the gun, about 400 feet in

altitude. The tests as above
enumerated were perfectly satis-
factory in every respect, and
exceeded in every way the re-
quirements of the government.
There were no mistakes made
and no delays whatever caused
by the air compressing plant or
the gun plant, which probably
exceeded the government re-
quirements in an aggregate of
over one thousand per cent., if
the various excess percentages
of the different tests were added
together, and which reflect great
credit upon the manufacturers
of the power plant, the con-
structing engineer, the manufac-
turers of the guns and projectiles,
and also the Pneumatic Torpedo
and Construction Company of
New York, which contracted for
and thus successfully carried to
completion their contract with
the government.

NOVEL FLYWHEEL CON-
STRUCTION.

VACUUM LINE

Ftgvke 10— Steam and Three-Stage Air Indicator Cards,
plotted from actual cards at 100 r. p. m.

Among the most recent and
novel applications of wire is the
wire flywheel lately erected at
the Mannesmann Tube Com-
pany's works, Germany, and
especially notable in view of the
well-known fact that heavy fly-
wheels driven at high velocities
present such dangers of breaking
asunder from the great centri-
fugal force developed. The wheel at the factory mentioned
is described by "Hardware" as a cast-iron hub or boss, to
which are attached two steel-plate disks or cheeks, about
twenty feet in diameter. The peripheral space between
the disks is filled in with some seventy tons of No. 5
steel wire, completely wound around the hub, the tensile
resistance thus obtained being found to be far superior
to that of any casting. This huge flywheel is driven at
a speed of 240 revolutions per minute, or a peripheral
velocity of 2.8 miles per minute, or approximately 250
feet per second, which is said to be nearly three times
the average speed of any express train in the world.
For such a constructed flywheel the length of wire is
estimated at about 250 miles.

Dec, 1895.] THE JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY. 137

RECENT SIEMENS-HALSKE INSTALLATIONS. THE PRODUCTION OF PURE ZINC.

The Siemens & Halske Electrical Company, since its
combination with the Union Iron Works of San Fran-
cisco has been effected, has installed several interesting
plants, one of the neatest of which is that shown in the
accompanying illustrations, reproduced from photographs

Messrs. Herren-Mylius and Fromin point out that to
try to purify zinc by dry methods leads to no favorable
results. The wet process can be carried out only with
the aid of electrolysis, and this can be done in two ways
— by the deposition of the metals from purified solutions

Figure 11 — One of the Three Pneumatic Dynamite Gims at Fort Winfield Scott, San Fr

of the lighting plant of the Occidental Hotel, San Fran-
cisco. In this installation a fifty kw. 125-volt dynamo
is driven direct by a vertical compound engine, having
dimensions of nine by seventeeu inches by a ten-inch
stroke. The engine is of the cruiser type, with special
finish, large bearings, and conforms with government
specifications throughout, operating at 280 revolutions
per minute.

Practical counterparts of this equipment, with the single
exception that the dynamos deliver current at a potential
of 220 volts, have just been installed in the National
Home f